On September 13, Ken Starr passed away at the age of 76. And he leaves behind what is, at best, a very complicated legacy.
Starr rose to prominence while investigating Bill Clinton’s sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky. In going after Clinton so hard, Starr positioned himself as an authority on moral decency. That reputation made things that much worse when Starr, later the president of Baylor University, was fired after 15 female students filed a lawsuit saying they were raped or sexually assaulted, and all under Starr’s watch.
Now that Starr is dead, many have one question: what did Monica Lewinsky have to say? Trust us: her reaction is sure to shock you!
Lewinsky’s previous run-in with Starr
Many mistakenly think that Monica Lewinsky never had any other contact with Ken Starr after the investigation of the 1990s. However, she actually ran into him in a restaurant in 2017. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Lewinsky said that she felt nervous about confronting a man that “had decided that a frightened young woman could be useful in his larger case against the president of the United States.”
Nonetheless, after the two exchanged basic pleasantries, Lewinsky managed to say her piece. She told Starr, “Though I wish I had made different choices back then…I wish that you and your office had made different choices, too.” She said it only later occurred to her that she was giving Starr an opportunity to apologize. Instead of doing so, though, Starr merely responded with, “I know. It was unfortunate.”
Lewinsky never got that apology before Starr died, with the man openly refusing to apologize to her in an appearance on CBS News. And once Starr died, the entire world couldn’t help but wonder how Lewinsky would respond to her unapologetic tormentor.
Monica Lewinsky’s reaction to Ken Starr’s death
After Starr died, Lewinsky expressed her mixed thoughts on the matter via Twitter. On that social media platform, she wrote about the need to show empathy despite her own complex feelings.
Users on Twitter were pleasantly surprised by how gracious Lewinsky was. This would have been the perfect opportunity for her to dunk on someone who once made her life a living hell. Instead, she chose to serve as an example of empathy and grace that we could all learn from.