Lewinsky won’t receive a private apology from Bill

FORMER US president Bill Clinton said he has not spoken to Monica Lewinsky since the revelation of their affair and that while he has apologised to her publicly he does not think a private apology is necessary at this point.

In a testy interview with NBC’s Today show aired on Monday, the 71-year-old Mr Clinton was also asked for his thoughts on the #MeToo movement.

The 42nd US president is on a book tour to promote a new thriller, The President Is Missing, co-written with best-selling author James Patterson.

But it’s his time in the Oval Office – specifically his affair with Ms Lewinsky – that is drawing scrutiny.

“I apologised to everybody in the world,” Mr Clinton said when asked if he had apologised to Ms Lewinsky for his affair with the then 22-year-old White House intern. “I have not talked to her,” he said. “I have never talked to her.”

Asked if he felt he should apologise privately to Ms Lewinsky, Mr Clinton said: “No, I do not.” “But I did say publicly on more than one occasion that I was sorry,” he said. “That’s very different. The apology was public.”

Asked about the #MeToo movement of women denouncing sexual abuse or harassment by powerful men in show business, politics and the media, Mr Clinton said: “I like the #MeToo movement. It’s way overdue.”