Monica Lewinsky's career advice turned heads on Twitter. Photo / AP
Monica Lewinsky's career advice turned heads on Twitter. Photo / AP
Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern who became embroiled in a scandalous affair that took down US President Bill Clinton, took to Twitter over the weekend to respond to a post that asked the twitterverse for "the worst career advice you've ever received".
Responding to a tweet posted by organisation psychologist and author Adam Grant, Lewinsky posted the worst career advice she had received:
an internship at the white house will be amazing on your resume. 😳
Lewinsky, now 45, was the catalyst for President Clinton's impeachment through the Starr Report, which was initially stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones but was broadened by Lewinsky's "sexual misconduct" with the then-President.
President Clinton responds to a question during his videotaped testimony. Photo / AP
Lewinsky told her co-worker Linda Tripp about her relationship with President Clinton, which lasted from 1995 to 1997 and included sexual encounters in the Oval Office of the White House.
Tripp began secretly recording their conversations. Tripp gave the tapes to Kenneth Starr who was investigating Clinton already over the Whitewater controversy. He then broadened his investigation and Clinton and Lewinsky were called before a grand jury.
During and after the scandal, Lewinsky became the subject of intense media focus and was vilified by many sectors of the press and the public.
But her internship at the White House might not have been as bad for her career as she thinks.
While Lewinsky found herself in the centre of a political storm, she also attained a level of celebrity from the affair and its fallout, including working with Andrew Morton on Monica's Story, her biography which told her side of the story of the affair.
Monica Lewinsky embraces President Clinton as he greeted well-wishers at a White House lawn party in Washington Nov. 6, 1996. Photo / AP
She also made the cover of Time magazine, and was interviewed by Barbara Walters for the TV program 20/20, watched by 70 million Americans, a record for a news broadcast.
It is estimated that Lewinsky made about $US500,000 from her book deal and another $US1 million from international rights to the TV interview.
After a period of time during which she appeared to live life as a recluse in response to the public shaming over the Clinton affair she has re-emerged as a public figure, activist, and fashion impresario.
As part of her comeback she wrote the opinion piece, "Shame and Survival", for Vanity Fair, gave a TED Talk, and recently appeared in conversation with Hannah Gadsby at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit.
She also tweeted using the #MeToo hashtag in 2017 stating that she was a victim of sexual assault, although she did not elaborate.
