Monica Lewinsky, 51, Dazzles in Floral Sundress at Cannes, Discussing ‘Reclaiming Her Narrative’

She famously made global headlines after being embroiled in a scandalous affair with then-President Bill Clinton.

But Monica Lewinsky has kickstarted her crusade to ‘reclaim her narrative’, as she made an appearance at a talk on the subject at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Monday.

The activist, 51, showed off her taut complexion in a floral sundress as she spoke at the event, titled ‘Reclaiming and Reframing: Moving your narrative forward.’

Embracing the warm Cannes weather, Monica cut a stylish figure in her colourful printed sundress to take to the stage.

During the talk, Monica was also joined by CEO of media company The Female Quotient Shelley Zalis, and Jen Sargent, the CEO of podcast network Wondery.

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Monica recently shed light on having ‘lost her future’ after becoming notoriously famous for her affair with Bill Clinton during an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast.

The chat with host Alex Cooper delved into what Lewinsky experienced in the fallout from the most famous extramarital relationship in American history. 

Cooper framed the situation: ‘You were 22 years old, he was 49, you were an intern. he was the president of the United States.’ 

Monica then said: ‘I was very quickly painted as a stalker, mentally unstable, not attractive enough.’

She now realizes her mistakes and how it cast a negative view of both herself and other women.

‘Because of the power dynamics, and the power differential, I never should’ve been in that f***ing position,’ she told Cooper. 

‘There was so much collateral damage for women  of my generation to watch a young woman to be pilloried on the world stage, to be torn apart for my sexuality, for my mistakes, for my everything.’ 

She then discussed how much she’d lost not just in the immediate aftermath but in years to come.

‘I was in my early 30s, I had nothing. That was the point when I realized how much had been taken from me. I lost my future,’ she said.

Lewinsky also revealed that she believes Bill Clinton should have resigned after the scandal became public. 

‘I think the right way to handle a situation like that would have been to probably say it was nobody’s business and to resign,’ she began. 

‘Or, to find a way of staying in office that was not lying and not throwing a young person that was just starting out in the world under the bus.’ 

Monica has been back in the public eye and giving interviews in recent weeks, having told Rolling Stone about her current dating life.

She noted that she has found dating tough at times, but that most of her romantic encounters come through being set up by friends because she’s not on the apps.

‘I’m not on the apps,’ she shared. ‘I am like, I can’t. I’m going to be catfished. I am so gullible. I think it’s a level of trust that is just not quite there yet.’

‘I date,’ Lewinsky continued to Rolling Stone. ‘I have relationships, situationships, all the things. I’ve had connections with some extraordinary men.

‘I’ve been really lucky. Not lucky enough that it’s been with someone where it’s worked out at the right time. It just hasn’t.’

Lewinsky’s infamous affair with former president Clinton eventually led to his impeachment.

On August 17, 1998, after multiple denials, the former leader appeared on television and finally confessed he was ‘solely and completely responsible’ for the relationship.

Monica has talked about the affair numerous times since it was made public.

She initially retreated from the public eye, admitting she was left feeling suicidal after being hounded by reporters and ridiculed on talk shows.

‘I just couldn’t see a way out, and I thought that maybe was the solution,’ she said years later.

She admitted it was ‘terrifying’ to make the decision to step back into the public eye, but it has helped her to ‘reclaim’ the narrative about her life, following the infamous fallout over her affair with then-president.

After spending time away from the public, Lewinsky made a grand return in 2014 with a personal essay for Vanity Fair.

She has since dedicated a large portion of her time to advocating against online bullying and working to help create a safer social media environment.

In 2019, she then signed on as a producer on Impeachment: American Crime Story, Ryan Murphy’s series chronicling her affair with Clinton and his impeachment trial.

She went on to launch her own production company, Alt Ending Productions, in 2021 – signing a first-look deal for scripted dramas with 20th Television.

In his memoir, which was released in November, Clinton admitted he never apologized directly to Monica over the scandal. 

In Citizen, he wrote about a 2018 interview on NBC’s Today Show when he admitted he was ‘caught off guard’ by questions on the subject.

At the time, host Craig Melvin brought up the #MeToo movement and asked whether the Monica affair would warrant his resignation if it happened today.

Clinton said no and insisted that he had to fight an illegitimate impeachment.

Melvin followed by quoting a Lewinsky column about how the #MeToo movement had changed her view of sexual harassment and asked whether Clinton also felt differently today.

Recalling the exchange, Clinton wrote: ‘I said, “No, I felt terrible then.”‘

‘”Did you ever apologize to her?” I said that I had apologized to her and everybody else I wronged. I was caught off guard by what came next.

‘”But you didn’t apologize to her, at least according to folks that we’ve talked to.”

‘I fought to contain my frustration as I replied that while I’d never talked to her directly, I did say publicly on more than [one] occasion I was sorry.’