Monica Lewinsky has broken her silence on her affair with Bill Clinton.
Writing exclusively for Vanity Fair, the 40-year-old revealed: “It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress (the garment famously stained during a sexual encounter with the President).
“I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened.”
Monica Lewinsky achieved a dubious fame for her affair with then-President Bill Clinton
Clinton’s admission of his dalliance with Lewinsky - then a White House intern – led to his eventual impeachment in 1998.
Of her decade of silence, Lewinsky writes: “So silent, in fact, that the buzz in some circles has been that the Clintons must have paid me off; why else would I have refrained from speaking out? I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.
“I am determined to have a different ending to my story. I”ve decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past. (What this will cost me, I will soon find out.”
Lewinsky and Clinton pictured embracing at a Democrat rally in 1996
While Lewinsky claims Clinton “took advantage” of her, she maintains the affair was between two consenting adults.
She adds: “Any ‘abuse’ came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position…. The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor’s minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power.”
The issue of Vanity Fair featuring Lewinsky's piece is available online from 8 May and will hit newsstands May 13. Check out excerpts here.
Clinton's admission of his affair with Lewinsky led to his impeachment
Oh and one more thing – Lewinsky has some words for Beyonce – who famously referenced her in the song Partition.
The song -- in which Beyoncé says "He popped all my buttons, and he ripped my blouse/He Monica Lewinsky-ed all on my gown" - is factually incorrect, according to Lewinsky.
“Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we’re verbing, I think you meant ‘Bill Clinton’d all on my gown,’ not ‘Monica Lewinsky’d,'" she points out.
That blue dress - seen here submitted as evidence in documents the Ken Starr investigation