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Experts Praise Monica Lewinsky After She Defends Thanking Lindsey Graham For Fighting Clinton ‘Smear Campaign’
Monica Lewinsky has reflected on the role Lindsey Graham played during one of the most challenging periods of her life, following the senator’s death earlier this month.
The philanthropist credited Graham with challenging efforts to “smear” her during the Bill Clinton impeachment scandal, describing his actions as “healing” for her family.
Monica Lewinsky’s kind words for the late senator were, however, met with some pushback, prompting her to clarify her stance, while also getting praise for looking past her political differences with Lindsey Graham.
Lewinsky’s public tribute to Graham following his death has drawn attention for its sincerity and the unlikely connection it highlighted between the former White House intern and the veteran Republican lawmaker.
Shortly after Graham’s death on 11 July, Lewinsky shared a message on X reflecting on the role he played during one of the most difficult periods of her life. While she acknowledged their political differences, she credited the South Carolina senator with helping expose efforts to discredit her during the fallout from the Clinton scandal.
“I’ve disagreed with many (many) of Lindsey Graham’s choices and beliefs,” Lewinsky wrote, “but he was also the one who worked tirelessly to prove there was a smear campaign against me from inside the WH.”
When one social media user accused Graham of being “evil” and suggested his actions were not motivated by concern for her, Lewinsky responded that she never claimed otherwise.
“I know he didn’t do it for me,” she replied. “I didn’t whitewash his history. But those actions were healing for me (and my family)… thanks for sharing your opinion.”
Expert Says The Philanthropist’s Tribute To Lindsey Graham Was ‘Classy’ And Genuine
5Communications strategist Adrienne Uthe said Lewinsky’s tribute “fits her clearly identified personal philosophy to a tee.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Uthe described the post as a genuine expression of gratitude rather than a political statement.
“She’s not suddenly a Lindsey Graham fan — she’s just honest enough to say he did one thing that mattered to her, and she’s not going to let political disagreement erase that,” Uthe said. “It works in her favor, and it’s the kind of nuance that actually means something.”
According to Uthe, the message resonated because it avoided grandstanding and instead focused on a specific act that Lewinsky felt deserved recognition.
He added: “There’s no performance to it — it reads like: ‘Hey, he wasn’t perfect, I disagreed with most of what he did, but he did this one thing for me, and I appreciated it.’ That’s it. It’s classy, and it’s a stand-up thing to highlight in someone’s death.”
How Lindsey Graham Became An Unexpected Ally To Monica Lewinsky During The Clinton Scandal
5The tribute also renewed interest in the events that brought the two figures together decades ago. Lewinsky was a 21-year-old White House intern when she began a relationship with then-President Bill Clinton in 1995.
The affair became public in 1998 after conversations with former colleague Linda Tripp were secretly recorded and later used as part of investigations surrounding Clinton.
As the scandal unfolded, Lewinsky became the focus of intense media scrutiny and public ridicule, forcing her out of public view for a period.
Graham later served as one of the House managers during Clinton’s impeachment proceedings.
While he strongly criticized the president for misleading the public and Congress, he also challenged attempts to undermine Lewinsky’s credibility, arguing that the focus should remain on presidential conduct rather than personal attacks against her.
During the impeachment debate in 1999, Graham argued that the proceedings were ultimately about protecting the integrity of the presidency.
“Impeachment is not about punishment. Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office,” he said.
The Activist Reflects On Finding Self-Acceptance After Her ‘Dark Decade’
5Lewinsky’s comments about Graham come as she continues to speak openly about the lasting impact of that chapter of her life and the work it took to move beyond it.
The philanthropist has talked openly about how negatively the scandal with Clinton affected her and her family’s lives, calling the ridicule she faced at the time a “public burning.”
During a recent episode of her podcast, “Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky,” she spoke with actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler about healing, self-acceptance and learning to embrace difficult experiences rather than trying to erase them.
“It’s such a big part of reclaiming,” she explained. “You really can’t move through all the steps until you’ve had acceptance.”
Monica Lewinsky Says She Had To Accept Her Past In The White House In Order To Move Forward
5Reflecting on what she has previously described as her “dark decade”, Lewinsky explained that much of her personal growth came from accepting every part of her story, including the version of herself that became known around the world during the White House scandal.
“A lot of my progress during my dark decade really came about from integration and being able to integrate like, ‘OK, I couldn’t leave Monica Lewinsky the White House intern in the past,’ like I had to find a way to not be ashamed and bring her with me, all the things,” Lewinsky said. “And so you can’t integrate until you’ve accepted.”
The author and activist said true integration only became possible once she stopped viewing that period of her life through the lens of shame and began approaching it with acceptance and compassion.
