More than 30 years ago, Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House intern,

became the center of a national scandal that forever changed her life.

Instead of starting her career, she was turned into a figure of ridicule and public humiliation.

The media obsessed over her story, making her the subject of endless jokes and tabloid scrutiny,

reducing her to a caricature without control over her own narrative.

Today, at 51, Lewinsky has reclaimed her voice as a survivor and advocate.

Reflecting on her experience, she recognizes the relationship with

President Clinton was an abuse of power, something she didn’t understand as a young intern.

When the scandal broke in 1998, the media painted her as a manipulative villain, ignoring the vast power imbalance.

She lost her job, faced isolation, and struggled for years to find work, haunted by the stigma.

Lewinsky calls herself “patient zero” of online shaming, describing the relentless cruelty and public insults that deepened her private battles with depression and anxiety.