Already have an account?
Get back to the

Monica Lewinsky Barred From Sitting in Al Gore’s Luxury Box at Cannes

Monica Lewinsky and Al Gore
Monica Lewinsky was barred from sitting in Al Gore's luxury box at the Cannes Lion event.

You can't sit with us! UK's The Guardian reports that former President Bill Clinton's infamous intern Monica Lewinsky was barred from sitting in the former Vice President Al Gore's luxury box during an advertising festival in Cannes.

Invited to sit with other VIPs in the mayoral box at the Palais de Festivals during the Cannes Lions fest on Saturday, June 20, Lewinsky ended up moving to the main audience's general seating for the night's program without explanation. It is not clear if Lewinsky's seat was reassigned at the request of festival organizers or Gore, who received the LionHeart honorary award for his worldly contributions.

Related: PHOTOS: Stars at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival

Lewinsky said she does not blame Gore, 67, for the mix-up. “I have tremendous respect for the critical work on climate change former Vice President Gore is doing and for which he was honored at Cannes Lions,” she told The Guardian in a statement. “I did not know he was to be seated in the mayor's box. It was 100 percent appropriate for me to sit elsewhere."

Related: PHOTOS: Look back at the Clinton presidency

Delivering the Cannes Lions keynote speech to ad execs Thursday, Bill Clinton's former mistress opened up about how her dalliances led to worldwide humiliation. She also referred to herself as cyberbullying's "patient zero."

"Not a day goes by that I am not reminded of my mistake, and I regret that mistake deeply. In 1998 after having been swept up into an improbable romance, I was then swept up into a political, legal and media maelstrom, that we had never seen before," she said. “This scandal was brought to you by the digital revolution … what that meant for me personally was that overnight I went from being a completely private figure, to a publicly humiliated one worldwide."

Related: PHOTOS: Stars who were bullied

A tireless anti-bullying advocate in the years since her 1998 scandal, Lewinsky's message has helped many, including Caitlyn Jenner, who told Vanity Fair she was inspired by the former White House intern's TED talk on the topic. VF writer Buzz Bissinger said Lewinsky's words "struck a chord" with Jenner, 65, during her transformation. Said Lewinsky at the time: "Anyone who is suffering from shame and public humiliation needs to know one thing: You can survive it."

In this article

Got a Tip form close button
Got a tip for US?
We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz!