Monica Lewinsky is making headlines once again — not for her past, but for her powerful present.
The 51-year-old activist and former White House intern has been stepping back into the public eye with a series of high-profile appearances, including a recent red carpet double-header.
On Thursday, April 3, Lewinsky attended the Broadway opening of Good Night, and Good Luck at the Winter Garden Theatre.
Dressed in an elegant black off-the-shoulder gown with a ruffled, asymmetrical hemline and pointed-toe pumps, she stunned at the star-studded event.
The guest list was stacked with big names: Kylie Minogue, Jim Parsons, Uma Thurman, Hugh Jackman, Cindy Crawford, Matthew Rhys, and Jennifer Lopez all turned up for the theatrical debut. The celebration continued at an opulent black-tie afterparty hosted at the New York Public Library.
Social Media Reacts
After photos and videos from the event had circulated on social media, people were quick to shower Lewinsky with praise.
"Monica Lewinsky looks fantastic," one X user tweeted, with another agreeing: "She looks phenomenal".
"Eat your heart out, Clinton," another social media user quipped, while another boldly stated: "Looks like she's aging backwards."
Another X user commented: "I still can't imagine how Monica Lewinsky has been able to make it through the rest of her life with such grace, after the entire world knowing her name being synonymous with one of the biggest scandals in American history."
Just weeks earlier, Lewinsky wowed at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscars party on March 2, where she wore a black Stella McCartney midi dress featuring a plunging neckline, sheer mesh paneling, and a sleek column silhouette.
2025 Marks 30 Years Since Lewinsky Met Clinton
On a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper, Lewinsky reflected on her affair with then-President Bill Clinton and the fallout that followed.
“I think that the right way to handle a situation like that would’ve been to probably say it was nobody’s business and to resign,” Lewinsky said, per The Evening Standard, referencing Clinton’s infamous denial under oath that ultimately led to his 1998 impeachment trial. “Or to find a way to stay in office that was not lying and not throwing a young person who is just starting out in the world under the bus.”
Still, she acknowledged the magnitude of the moment. “At the same time, I hear myself say that and it’s like, ‘Okay, but we’re also talking about the most powerful office in the world. I don’t want to be naïve either.’”
Lewinsky, who was a 22-year-old unpaid White House intern when the affair began, has lived much of her life in the shadow of that scandal. The story resurfaced in 2021 with Impeachment: American Crime Story, a dramatization of the events that she produced.
The affair began in 1995 during a government shutdown, when Lewinsky was working in the West Wing under Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. According to the Starr Report, Clinton would often visit Panetta’s office and engage in flirtation with Lewinsky.
She later testified that on November 15, 1995, Clinton invited her into his private study, where they acknowledged their mutual attraction and initiated a sexual relationship.
Over the next 18 months, they had ten sexual encounters — eight while Lewinsky worked at the White House and two after she had been transferred to the Pentagon.
Their connection extended beyond physical intimacy: they exchanged phone calls and gifts, including neckties from Lewinsky and a special edition of Leaves of Grass from Clinton.
Despite ending the relationship in February 1996, Clinton resumed contact the following month, inviting Lewinsky back to the Oval Office for another encounter. She later admitted: “I never expected to fall in love with the President. I was surprised that I did.”
Eventually, concerns among staffers led to Lewinsky’s reassignment to the Pentagon. She recalled that during her dismissal meeting, she begged to stay: “He told me I was too sexy to be working in the East Wing and that this job at the Pentagon where I'd be writing press releases was a sexier job... I was never going to see the President again. I mean, my relationship with him would be over.”
At the Pentagon, she met Linda Tripp, who secretly recorded conversations about Lewinsky’s relationship with the President. Tripp’s recordings would become crucial evidence in the Starr investigation. Despite the transfer, Lewinsky and Clinton remained in contact, continuing their relationship over the phone.
In May 1997, Clinton ended the relationship for good, according to the Starr Report. He told Lewinsky that he had once had “hundreds of affairs,” but had been trying to be faithful since turning 40. He praised her as a “great person” and said he hoped they could remain friends, insisting: “The situation, he stressed, was not Ms. Lewinsky’s fault.”
The saga exploded into public consciousness when it was revealed during legal proceedings related to Clinton’s denial of the affair. Clinton’s now-notorious line, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” became a flashpoint in American political history.
In recent years, the MeToo movement and the death of Linda Tripp in 2020 have prompted a reevaluation of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, with many reexamining the power dynamics and institutional failures surrounding the scandal.
For Lewinsky, her journey has been one of reclamation. She’s turned her narrative into advocacy, reemerging as a public figure with substance and style.
In early 2024, she fronted Reformation’s “You’ve Got the Power” campaign to promote voter registration ahead of the US election.
“Voting is using our voice to be heard and it’s the most defining — and powerful — aspect of democracy,” she said in a press release. “Voting is always important, but the stakes are especially high this year with voter frustration and apathy threatening to meaningfully impact turnout.” She added, “A Ref woman is an empowered woman – and an empowered woman uses her voice.”