Town & Country magazine disinvited Monica Lewinsky from its annualphilanthropic summit on Wednesday because Bill Clinton was attending, HuffPost has learned.
Lewinsky tweeted, somewhat cryptically, on Wednesday:
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.
it’s 2018.
emily post would def not approve.
Me
Through a spokesperson, Lewinsky declined to comment beyond her tweets.
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.
it’s 2018.
emily post would def not approve.
Me
President Clinton attended the summit on Wednesday to introduce Emma Gonzalez, an advocate for gun control and survivor of the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Through a spokesman, Clinton said he did not know about Lewinsky being disinvited.
“President Clinton was invited to address the Town & Country Philanthropy Summit,” press secretary Angel Ureña said on Twitter. “He gladly accepted. Neither he nor his staff knew anything about the invitation or it being rescinded.”
: Welcome to the 2018 #TandCPhilanthropy Summit! Watch LIVE as @BillClinton of @ClintonFdn introduces @Emma4Change … https://www.pscp.tv/w/bcLqBjU1OTM0M3wxTVl4TnBWV3dPUUd3VzQXpZ8z_S3691fGoWEajSlJUsJH7JelPVitzOkFVFw= …
Town&Country @TandCmag
: Welcome to the 2018 #TandCPhilanthropy Summit! Watch LIVE as @BillClinton of @ClintonFdn introduces @Emma4Change @dela
pscp.tv
HuffPost confirmed with attendees that Lewinsky was uninvited from the summit.
The magazine issued an apology on Thursday morning, writing in a tweet, “We apologize to Ms. Lewinsky and regret the way the situation was handled.”
We apologize to Ms. Lewinsky and regret the way the situation was handled.
Lewinsky, who famously had an affair with Clinton when he was in office, hasseen her profile and reputation rise along with the current Me Too moment. Many have acknowledged the sexist way she was villainized by the press and many politicians in the ’90s. She was sent into exile for years, as she’s written, while Clinton’s reputation as an elder statesman only grew.
The move by Town & Country struck many as exactly the wrong thing to do ― particularly at a time when women are finally being heard when it comes to issues of sexual harassment.
″@townandcountry should be ashamed of themselves. Do they let their heads of the magazine prey on their interns?” tweeted Hollywood producer Judd Apatow on Wednesday. “Would they disinvite them after abusing their power to get what they wanted from them?”
Maxwell Strachan contributed reporting. This story has been updated throughout.