Monica Lewinsky, the world's most famous White House intern, broke her silence for Vanity Fair magazine and had several things to say about her tabloid-filled past.
Though the May issue will not be available until Thursday, some of the excerpts have been released.
"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.... The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor's minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power," Lewinsky said.
Lewinsky, 40, worked in the White House from 1995 to 1996 under President Bill Clinton.
From November 1995 to March 1997, she claimed she had nine sexual encounters with Clinton, who eventually admitted -- after lying -- that he had an "inappropriate relationship" with her.
After she shot to fame for the scandal, she became a handbag designer, diet company spokesperson, and reality television host.
However, even almost two decades after the infamous affair and subsequent impeachment trial occurred, Lewinsky's name never entirely escaped the press.
During an interview on "Meet the Press" in January, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) claimed Clinton's "predatory" behavior with Lewinsky undermines the "war on women" language used by Democrats.
"One of the workplace laws and rules that I think are good is that bosses should not prey on young interns in their office," Paul said. "And I think really the media seems to have given President Clinton a pass on this. He took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. There is no excuse for that, and that is predatory behavior ... Then they (Democrats) have the gall to stand up and say, 'Republicans are having a war on women.'"
Paul, a possible 2016 presidential nominee, also told host David Gregory that "It's not Hillary's fault, but it is a factor in judging Bill Clinton in history" and suggested that "sometimes it's hard to separate one from the other."
