Monica Lewinsky says gallows humour saved her during Clinton scandal in new essay
‘Thanks to the ordeals I endured back in, oh, 1998, I acquired the equivalent of a PhD in gallows humour’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Monica Lewinsky has credited “gallows humour” with helping her survive the Clinton scandal in the 1990s.
Lewinsky reflected on the topic in a new essay for Vanity Fair, in which she explores the ways in which humour can help us through turbulent times such as the coronavirus pandemic.
“Early on in life I learned how to take a joke in order to survive,” she writes. ”It was the fifth or sixth grade, and as a sensitive preteen, I increasingly found myself returning home from school and shedding my backpack along with tears.”
At that time, she said she was teased by her peers, at which point her parents taught her the following rule: “If you laugh with them, they’ll stop laughing at you.”
Being able to rely on humour, Lewinsky writes, “played a large role in My Survival in grade school and beyond”.
“Thanks to the ordeals I endured back in, oh, 1998, I acquired the equivalent of a PhD in gallows humour,” she adds.
“(My family gave nicknames to the prosecutors, politicians, and the press. These became our verbal Xanax.)”
In 1998, impeachment proceedings were initiated and completed against Bill Clinton on articles of perjury and obstruction of justice.
That was also the year Clinton admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with Lewinsky, a former White House intern who went on to secure a job at the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.
Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives in December 1998. He was acquitted by the Senate in February 1999 and remained in office until January 2001.