John Oliver zerreißt sich daran, sich an Monica Lewinskys „Letzte Woche“ heute Abend zu „ein massiver Akt des Vertrauens“ zu erinnern

>On Tuesday’s episode of “Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky,” Oliver got choked up when Lewinsky thanked him for having her on the show. She said it was instrumental in her reclamation journey and allowed her to tell her story to the host’s younger crowd who may not know her as well.

>“I’m also very, very grateful that you did it, because I know that it was not an easy decision to make,” Oliver said. “As part of that process that you’re clearly going through, a TED talk and a Vanity Fair op-ed is precise, right? And it’s all on your terms. You can get word-for-word, moment-to-moment. You can control all of it.”

>He continued: “So I was extra grateful that you were willing to put yourself in the position where you would be under less control. And I do think it was a massive act of trust on your part. And I am very grateful that you thought we were worthy of that trust, because I know your trust had been broken in the past.”

>In the “Last Week Tonight” segment, Oliver also admitted to cracking jokes at Lewinsky’s expense in the past. On the podcast, Lewinsky said that the host admitting to that and apologizing helped bring them closer together.

>“I hadn’t heard the jokes, thankfully, but whatever jokes I have heard — when someone takes responsibility and apologizes, you actually end up sort of… it’s not just back to neutral where you were,” she said. “It’s more positive because there’s a value.”

Love John Oliver so much. Last Week Tonight is one of the only shows helping me cope with the absolute batshit insanity that is the U.S. at the moment.

That interview is one of my all time favorites. Anytime it pops up on YouTube I watch it.

Monica Lewinsky was absolutely under disproportionate scrutiny as a result of the affair, but I refuse to see her as a victim:

She was 22-24 years old during the affair;

She was aware that Clinton was married and acted within the affair while Hillary was in the White House; and

It was consensual, with 9 incidents occurring and Lewinsky making the initial move.

There’s a victim in this story and it’s Hillary, not Lewinsky. I refuse to do the thing where we infantilize women.