‘My parents thought I’d be humiliated to death, literally’: Monica Lewinsky
Lewinsky speaks out against cyber bullying after a 10-year self-imposed exile
Mumbai: A mere mention of Monica Lewinsky’s name brings back memories of the infamous 1998 scandal involving former President Bill Clinton that rocked the White House. Lewinsky got ‘into a relationship’ that she terms ‘consensual’ while interning with the White House.
The scandal apart from rocking the White House, resulted in Bill Clinton’s impeachment.
Time and again, the story has come up on media and it refuses to die down.
After spending 10 years as a recluse, Lewinsky came out in the open to help victims of bullying as she spoke about the ‘culture of humiliation’ at a TED talk event in Vancouver.
Lewinsky opened up about the darkest days of her life and her battle with depression.
The Internet broke the news of Monica Lewinsky’s high-profile affair. She became a global name for all the wrong reasons, though.
Even when media worldwide was objectifying her, few knew that behind the pictures, and the name there was an actual person.
In a recent study, Lewinsky quoted, the most common feeling that a person experiences after using the Internet is ‘humiliation’. Happiness and anger follow close behind.
Trolling, invasion of privacy have created a dangerous precedent in the society. Celebrities have been targeted time and again. Nude, intimate pictures and videos are leaked online and now live lives of eternity.
“The dangerous trend of ‘culture of humiliation’ has created a situation where public humiliation has become a commodity and shame is an industry,” she said.
An emotional Lewinsky said that gossip websites, blogs and forums thrive on blatant invasion of privacy. “The juicier the gossip, the more clicks it receive. The more clicks received, they earn more money for advertisements.”
It’s time such dangerous trends are stopped, else society will continue its destructive momentum and destroy civilization irrevocably.
Watch the video here.