Monica Lewinsky will appear in a new docuseries called The Clinton Affair—and the teaser will break your heart
In February, Monica Lewinsky penned an essay about how the #MeToo movement has made her rethink the power dynamics implicit in her relationship with former President Bill Clinton when she was a White House intern at 22. Since then, the activist has continued to speak out against bullying, sexual harassment, and assault. And now, Lewinsky is appearing in a new docuseries about that infamous period in American history.
The Clinton Affairis a three-night docuseries that will air on A&E starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT on November 18th. It was created by Emmy Award-winning director Blair Foster and Academy Award-winning producer Alex Gibney, and it centers on the scandal and impeachment following Clinton’s affair. The series will contain previously unseen archival footage and new interviews—including some from Lewinsky. In one of the most poignant moments of a teaser release by A&E on November 13th, Lewinsky recalls a time when she believed the only way out of the situation was to take her own life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfeEJtyLeJY?feature=oembed
In another pre-released clip, Lewinsky explains how being around Bill Clinton—the most powerful man in the world—felt to her as a 22-year-old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jNWshxwJq0?feature=oembed
In a poignant essay for Vanity Fair published on November 13th, Lewinsky wrote that she participated in more than 20 hours of interviews for the docuseries. She acknowledged that filming forced her to relive a dark period in her life and that she often doubted her decision to participate. But Lewinsky also wrote that shooting the docuseries helped her come to terms with her grief over the way she had been treated and the pain she once caused. She wrote that if she saw Hillary Clinton in person today, she would “summon up whatever force I needed to again acknowledge to her—sincerely—how very sorry I am,” even though she apologized publicly in a 1999 interview with Barbara Walters.
She also wrote that after her February essay was published, she noticed journalists were finally starting to ask Bill Clinton about the way he handled the affair and the subsequent fallout. Ultimately, she wrote that filming The Clinton Affair allowed her to take ownership of her narrative.
"Why did I choose to participate in this docuseries?" she wrote. "One main reason: because I could. Throughout history, women have been traduced and silenced. Now, it’s our time to tell our own stories in our own words."
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She added that the docuseries was helmed by many women, noting that two out of three main editors and four out of five executive producers working on the project were female.
"Yes, the process of filming has been exceedingly painful," she admitted. "But I hope that by participating, by telling the truth about a time in my life—a time in our history—I can help ensure that what happened to me never happens to another young person in our country again."
We admire Lewinsky’s strength, and we’ll definitely be tuning in to The Clinton Affair when it airs.
