In 2005, she attended the London School of Economics in the UK to escape attacks from the press in the US and graduated with a master’s in social psychology. When she moved back to the States, she learned that most traditional employers didn’t want to work with her, and she struggled to make an income, scraping by with her own projects or with loans from her loved ones.
What did she do for work after the scandal?
She shared her story for the book Monica’s Story and also appeared on TV for a 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters. She also started her own handbag line in 1999 called The Real Monica Inc. Her career took various twists and turns over the years, including being a spokesperson for Jenny Craig and appearing on reality shows and SNL.
She re-entered the spotlight in 2014 and went viral in a 2015 TED Talk
After being out of the spotlight for almost 20 years, Lewinsky came back to the public eye with an essay for Vanity Fair called Shame and Survival. She told Vanity Fair that it was catalyzed by the passing of Tyler Clementi, a college student who died by suicide after he was secretly recorded kissing a man.
In her 2015 TED Talk, she talked about the scandal she was involved in and her present work to stop online bullying and public shaming.
She dedicated most of her time to anti-bullying advocacy work
As the target of bullying, Monica Lewinsky spent much of her revamped career speaking publicly on the importance of advocating for others and regulating social media to make it a safer space. She worked as a strategic adviser for Bystander Revolution, an anti-bullying organization founded by MacKenzie Bezos. In February 2024, she worked on a campaign to build voter awareness as the face of Reformation’s You’ve Got the Power campaign.
