Top 74 Quotes & Sayings by Monica Lewinsky

I've been told by the prosecutors and by my own attorneys I should go to law school. I guess I have a knack for it.

Getting and keeping my immunity became very important to me. For I needed to take care of myself and my family. No one else was worried about me.

But, clearly to me, what I've come to see is that that happened because I didn't have enough feelings of self-worth. So that I didn't feel that... I was worthy of being number one to a man.

I have spent the past several years working so hard to just move on, and to try and build a life for myself.

I chose to not wear a wire and tape people. I chose to not get immunity until - were accepted, whatever - until the independent counsel's office was comfortable with what I said was the truth.

Well, for me, really, I think it was I wanted to try and clear up some of the misperceptions that were out there and fill in some of the historical gaps.

I think probably the qualities that I look for in a man are somewhat different than they were before I became a public person, but not that much different. I think that, sort of, the element of trust is certainly much bigger for me, but the other things that - the other qualities, intelligence and kindness and sense of humor, those things.

I'm an incredibly lucky girl. For someone who has made some very foolish mistakes and had some tough lessons to learn very quickly, I am still incredibly lucky.

I was enamored with him. And I was excited. And I was enjoying it.

It was that chemistry. And was the fact that he was president part of that chemistry? I don't know. Maybe. Probably. But it was - I was there because there was chemistry. I wasn't there because, oh, this is the president.

It was a mutual relationship.

I mean, there was a portion, of course, that I think, when I look back now, that there was a portion of what attracted me must have been the awe of him being a powerful man in this environment, not to take away from who he is as a real person.

I did though at least expect him to correct the false statements he made when he was trying to protect the Presidency. Instead, he talked about it as though I had laid it all out there for the taking. I was the buffet and he just couldn't resist the dessert.

I was worried about my mom more than I was worried about the president. And then I was worried about the president, and then I was worried about myself.

So I think it's - what was important to me is that I found that I can't change the fact that people already have made an opinion about me. But I don't think that should stop me from trying to correct some of the misperceptions that are out there.

I voted Republican this year; the Democrats left a bad taste in my mouth.

Well, it was actually - I brought the idea of doing a documentary to HBO back in 2000, when there were some press reports sort of were bandied about that there were going to TV movies based on some of the books that were out.

And understandably so, that when you're in legal jeopardy, you really cannot put yourself in a position to open yourself up to the media.

When I think of the person that I thought was Bill Clinton, I think he had genuine remorse. When I think of the person that I now see is 100 percent politician, I think he's sorry he got caught.

I know I will never have an affair with a married man again.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry some days. But I really have worked hard to put a lot of the anger and disappointment in the past.

I certainly know that this relationship could not have continued the way it did, when I was at the Pentagon and the president was obviously at the White House, without Betty.

I've always really been a romantic at heart, and I have always wanted kids, and I think the idea of sharing your life with the right person is amazing, actually.

I think anybody who really knows me knows I'm not a media hound and knows that I'm really sort of trying to do the best I can with the situation that I found myself in.

He ended it. He just said he didn't - he - well, what he said was that he didn't feel it was right, and you know, I mean that's - because he ended it, he'd probably have to be the one to answer that.

This was a mutual relationship, mutual on all levels, right from the way it started and all the way through. I don't accept that he had to completely desecrate my character.

At one point, I actually, ironically, thought I might go into criminology and work with the FBI.

I'm kind of known for something that's not so great to be known for.

I don't have the feelings of self-worth that a woman should have... and that's been the center of a lot of my mistakes and a lot of my pain.

And I felt sorry, and I have felt bad about what happened.

I try to make very careful decisions about what I choose to do, and it's - I know that unfortunately one of the misperceptions about me, I think, is that I'm sort of a moth to the limelight.

So it was sort of an odd time because I had been hired, but my paperwork hadn't gone through. So I worked as an intern during the government shutdown, as an intern, but I already had a job.

He could have made it right with the book. But he hasn't. He is a revisionist of history. He has lied.

I mean, I felt terrible. And in the beginning, I mean, I was completely devastated. I mean, can you imagine the kind of guilt that you would feel, and the responsibility?

I'm probably the only person over 40 who does not want to be 22 again.

We talk a lot about our right to freedom of expression, but we need to talk more about our responsibility to freedom of expression. We all want to be heard, but let's acknowledge the difference between speaking up with intention and speaking up for attention

Online we have a compassion deficit

As painful and destructive as they are, the hateful comments allow us to map the underlying beliefs of many people in a way we've never been able to before. It's almost as if all of the negativity and misogyny needs to come to the surface so we can fully understand what it is, and how deep it goes, before we can begin to shift it. Of course, I wish it weren't there.

I've learned not to put things in my mouth that are bad for me.

I would feel a little awkward because of my connection with politics.

Public humiliation is a commodity and shame is an industry.

You can insist on a different end to the story.

I was Patient Zero. The first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet.

The more shame, the more clicks. The more clicks, the more advertising dollars.

I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened.

Some people are born great and some have greatness thrust upon them

Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one. I was Patient Zero.

I felt like a piece of trash. I felt dirty and I felt used and I was disappointed.

Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any 'abuse' came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position.

Anyone who is suffering from shame and public humiliation needs to know one thing: You can survive it... You can insist on a different ending to your story. Have compassion for yourself. We all deserve compassion, and to live both online and off in a more compassionate world.

To mock at a soul in pain is a dreadful thing.

It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress.

Try and have neutral compassion toward the perpetrator. Step outside the sting of the incident and realize that this person is trying to erase their own inadequacy or unhappiness by transferring it to you. It won't make the incident go away, but it's one thing you can do to reduce the pain.

As far as our culture of humiliation goes, what we need is a revolution. Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop.

Building a more compassionate society is going to be a bilateral exercise between individuals and the brands that represent their aspirations, their values and their truths. People make brands. If people are compassionate, brands will be compassionate in return.

I tried to walk a line between acting lawfully and testifying falsely, but I now recognize that I did not fully accomplish this goal and that certain of my responses to questions about Ms. Lewinsky were false.

People who know Clinton knew the guy has a real problem keeping his hands off women.

Let's acknowledge the difference between speaking up with intention and speaking up for attention.

Be mindful of clickbait - sensational stories designed to humiliate. Click with compassion.

Changing behaviours begins with evolving beliefs.