HBO Making Documentary of Lewinsky
Four
years after the start of the scandal that almost toppled
a president, Monica Lewinsky says she's still trying to
figure out how to live a normal life.
Fighting back tears, and laughing a little, Lewinsky appeared
at a news conference on Janurary 16 to promote an HBO documentary
scheduled to debut on March 3. Called ``Monica in Black and
White,'' it largely consists of her answering questions from
an audience of HBO staff and college students.
Lewinsky initiated the project and was paid for her participation,
but she wouldn't say how much.
The former intern said she made the film partly because
she was worried other TV movies being made about her case
would perpetuate inaccuracies and misconceptions.
What is the biggest misconception people have about her?
``That I sought this celebrity by seducing the president
and going to the White House with an agenda and turning on
him so all of this could happen, so I could enjoy it and cause
trouble for this country and make millions of dollars and
perpetuate my celebrity,'' she said.
``And that I'm stupid,'' she added.
Lewinsky, who designs handbags and attends classes at Columbia
University in New York, wore a black leather jacket and skirt.
She appeared to fight back tears when a reporter asked about
former President Clinton's moral standards.
``I'm flustered right now,'' she said. ``I'm so sorry.''
She also tried not to answer a handful of questions, including
how she felt about Monica Lewinsky jokes, indicating HBO wanted
to save responses for the documentary. Eventually, she said
gallows humor helped her, but she doesn't like how her
name has become synonymous with the scandal.
``The ones that take my last name and equate that
to something a lot of people in the world do is something
really cruel,'' she said.
Asked why she doesn't try to avoid public attention, she
said, ``What I learned to do - and it seemed to work - is
if I went to a certain number of events and gave photographers
some pictures, they didn't stand outside my house.''
``I'm really trying to do the best I can to normalize my
life,'' she said.
She curtly dismissed a question about how she felt about
Clinton today: ``It's all in the past and I've really just
moved on.''
Most people who recognize her - maybe not journalists - are
very kind, she said.
``It started with that rule in kindergarten,'' she said.
``If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at
all.''
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