Monica Lewinsky joins Twitter: Why that's bad news for Hillary Clinton 2016 (+video)
With three simple words, Monica Lewinsky has broken her silence, re-entered public life, launched a campaign against cyber-bullying - and, quite possibly, thrown a major wrench in Hillary Clinton's purported plans to run for the presidency in 2016.
The former White House intern who had an affair with President Clinton in 1998 joined Twitter Monday with this simple tweet:
That tweet came ahead of Lewinsky's first public speech in 13 years, a Forbes Under 30 Summit in which she spoke about cyber-bullying in a speech entitled, "Monica Lewinsky and the Internet's Reputation Shredder."
I was Patient Zero, Lewinsky said in her speech. The first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet.
She said that the death of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, whose college roommate streamed video of him kissing another male student, inspired her to share her own story of Internet shaming and how the Clinton affair scandal nearly ruined her life. In an earlier essay, Lewinsky wrote, Perhaps by sharing my story, I reasoned, I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation."
Lewinsky's re-re-entry into public life (she's "broken her silence" several times before, as the Washington Post points out, first in a 1999 tell-all book, then an interview with Barbara Walters in 2000, and finally a Vanity Fair essay in 2014, all before joining Twitter) is a smart move for the former intern whose name has become synonymous with sexual scandal.
Why? On Twitter, Lewinsky can communicate with the public on her own terms, at her own discretion - there's no editor, handler, or network executive who may spin her story to suit their objectives.
And by describing herself as 'patient zero,' Lewinsky re-frames her role in the well-known scandal narrative from "the other woman" to a victim of cyber-bullying, simultaneously earning her both credibility on the public stage as well as compassion - both of which she's struggled to achieve in the past.
So far, it's paying off: Lewinsky received a standing ovation for her speech at the Forbes Under 30 Summit - and she's already got more than 20,000 followers on Twitter.
One person unlikely to be following Lewinsky on Twitter: Hillary Clinton.
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Monica Lewinsky joins Twitter: Why that's bad news for Hillary Clinton 2016 (+video)