Lewinsky is crossed off the list after Clinton clash
MONICA LEWINSKY has described how she was unceremoniously disinvited from a high-profile event after the organisers realised that Bill Clinton was going to be there.
Miss Lewinsky, 44, had accepted an invitation to a conference on philanthropy hosted by Town & Country, the lifestyle magazine, at Hearst Tower in New York.
However, the magazine then rescinded her invitation and offered her the opportunity to write an article for it instead.
An annoyed Miss Lewinsky, now an anti-bullying activist, wrote on Twitter: “Dear world: please don’t invite me to an event (esp one about social change) and – then after I’ve accepted – uninvite me because Bill Clinton then decided to attend/was invited.”
She said etiquette expert Emily Post “would def not approve,” then added: “P.S. … and definitely, please don’t try to ameliorate the situation by insulting me with an offer of an article in your mag.”
Miss Lewinsky’s affair with Mr Clinton when she was a 22-year-old White House intern rocked his administration and led in part to his impeachment in 1998. He tried in the Senate for alleged perjury and obstruction of justice, but was acquitted.
The “Philanthropy Summit”, which took place on Wednesday, featured “activists, game-changers, and leaders across the field of philanthropy, education, healthcare, and gun control”.
For a panel discussion, Mr Clinton introduced survivors of the Parkland high school shooting in Florida, in which 17 people died.
A spokeswoman for Mr Clinton said the former president had not been aware that Miss Lewinsky had been scheduled to attend the event and then disinvited. “President Clinton was invited to address the Town & Country Philanthropy Summit. He gladly accepted. Neither he nor his staff knew anything about the invitation or it being rescinded.”
In a statement, the magazine said: “We apologise to Ms Lewinsky and regret the way the situation was handled.”