Vanity Fair Gives Monica Lewinsky 15 More Minutes

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Graydon Carter has found a way to continue pretending that the Millennium never came by including an “exclusive” with Monica Lewinsky in the June issue of Vanity Fair. What’s new with Monica? She wants to “take back her narrative” and “help victims of internet shaming.”

Though the full story won’t be out until May 8 (TWO DAYS), the teaser available online indicates that Lewinsky’s in-her-own-words-style piece “critiques the culture that put a 24-year-old through the wringer and calls out the feminists who joined the chorus.” All while wearing a virginal white dress.

Lewinsky is still sorry about having sexual relations with that man. (“I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened”) but she also wants us all to move on: “It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress.”

In the article, Lewinsky still maintains that she and Clinton had a consensual relationship, but alleges that she was abused by those who wanted to “brand” her after the fact. As she’s said before, she had difficulty getting work after their affair, though she turned down lucrative offers she didn’t feel comfortable with.

As she’s said before, Lewinsky has had moments when she felt suicidal. Reading about Tyler Clementi’s story prompted strong emotional reactions for Lewinsky and her mother; Lewinsky identifies with Clementi and has chosen to move forward with her as-of-yet-undefined campaign to end internet bullying because she considers herself “possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet.” It’s difficult to comprehend how an individual can put the past behind them while also bringing up that past as relevant to their new life purpose, but perhaps Lewinsky’s Vanity Fair presence will finally give her the media control she wants.

According to New York Times reporter Amy Chozick, the piece will also include criticisms of Hillary Clinton (“I find her impulse to blame the Woman—not only me, but herself—troubling”) and Beyoncé’s “Partition”:

“Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we’re verbing, I think you meant ‘Bill Clinton’d all on my gown,’ not ‘Monica Lewinsky’d.'”