Monica Lewinsky became a whipping post for all of America’s basest, most misogynistic tendencies. He was arguably the most powerful man in the world, and yet all of this was somehow her fault
Around September 1997, 48-year-old Linda Tripp began to record her phone calls with a 22-year-old intern. It was these tapes that would make Monica Lewinsky the most famous intern in the world. Lewinsky herself was barely an adult when this betrayal thrust fame upon her. She never signed up for public life; she wasn’t promoting a book or a movie or an album. She was just a girl right out of college, filled with the kind of insecurities girls just out of college have.
It was one of the worst betrayals in modern life, 22 hours of taped conversation, 22 hours of confession, 22 hours of betrayal. In an article written the following year,“a sighing, giggling, sobbing soundscape of the American night, and a breathtaking study in betrayal.” And it was. After January 1998, Monica Lewinsky—who next week returns, again, to our national consciousness in Ryan Murphy’s
—was no longer a private person. She became a Rorschach test for misogyny. She became everyone’s punching bag. Thecalled her “the portly pepper pot.” Late-night hosts were obsessed with her; she was a recurring character onMaking fun of this 22-year-old girl became a national pastime. She was bullied for everything from her hat choice to her weight to her voice to her diction.
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