former President Bill Clinton's
interview with our own Craig Melvin
still making big waves this morning mr.
Clinton's response to questions about
Monica Lewinsky and whether he owes her
a private apology drawing immediate
backlash well last night Bill Clinton
tried to do a little cleanup in Aisle
seven Craig Melvin has the latest
overnight Bill Clinton apologizing again
a minute in a minute now I apologize to
my family to Monica Lewinsky and her
family and to the American people before
these new public apology coming hours
after facing questions here on today
about his handling of the Monica
Lewinsky scandal in the late 90s do you
feel like you owe her an apology on more
than one occasion that I was sorry the
former president voicing support for the
me2 movement but facing sharp criticism
for his comments during the today
interview nobody believes that I got out
of that for free I left the White House
16 million dollars in debt some allies
including former Clinton spokesman Joe
Lockhart took issue with the former
president's focus I think in that
interview he succumbed to being the
victim and feeling victimized
social media erupting one user writing
Bill Clinton still refuses to take
responsibility for what he did to Monica
Lewinsky Lewinsky herself did not
comment directly simply tweeting she's
grateful to the myriad people who have
helped me evolve and gain perspective in
the past 20 years and linking to a
Vanity Fair piece she wrote in March
discussing her consensual affair that
reads in part now at 44 on beginning
just beginning to consider the
implications of the power differentials
that were so vast between a president
and a White House intern now she's being
supported by other me two activists
actress Rose McGowan tweeting at Clinton
in part a human life was altered and
destroyed due to your selfishness
prior to his overnight comments she and
others demanded Clinton apologized some
the president never did privately but
did do publicly back in 1998 and again
last night I'm innocent and I mean it
today I live with it all the time okay
so please welcome NBC's Craig Melvin
co-host of
[Applause]
Melo lose their Greg well you know just
satin ask some questions yeah that's
right and the responses were I was 16
million dollars in debt because he's 16
million dollars in debt because he was
accused he was he lied under oath about
whether he did or he didn't do it and
that's why he got impeached I mean can I
just ask you first of all Amy because we
talked about this yesterday yes did he
fix it by coming out and saying what he
said and he's saying the suggestion on
NBC was that I never apologized well I
did and I admitted that I admit it now I
apologize I apologize to Lewinsky
Craig's whole line of questioning was
did you make it did you personally
apologize right he tried you can say
that and I think your nickname should be
bombs away I mean those questions by the
way Mel arrogant they were great you
know I made the point yesterday that if
you treat someone badly in a
relationship posting a general apology
on Facebook doesn't cut it no okay you
need to contact that person personally
and I think every adult knows this right
that is your responsibility and in your
interview President Clinton he didn't
want to admit that yeah that was very
clear and the thing is like he and James
Patterson James Patterson who's now
partnered on books with Bill O'Reilly
and now Bill Clinton he's sitting he's
he interrupts to say what about LBJ what
about JFK okay they were rumored
adulterers but the truth is Dan they
were not accused felons I mean they
weren't accused felonious liars
right let's remember what ultimately got
Bill Clinton in trouble is not that he
had an affair with Monica Lewinsky but
that he lied about it under oath under
oath and so that ultimately led to the
impeachment process and to all of his
more of his trouble so that's why he got
so in debt a lawyer should defend him
for doing that but he wasn't the only
person who got in debt because of this
betty curry his secretary she racked up
huge legal bills whisky's life right
that that affair ruined her life and I
have to say Monica Lewinsky has handled
herself with grace and dignity in the
years since she hasn't tried in the
beginning she did some black and white
movie thing but she she's not been out
there repeatedly capitalizing on this
I'm sure
she she feels ashamed about you know her
role in it when I see her talk about it
she seems to still be wrestling with the
pain of it but think about something
else she's become an adult now and she
was really almost a child when she was
an intern and that's a lot what this me
to movement is about you see these
powerful men taking advantage of very
young women who don't quite understand
it now monica lewinsky 20 years later
has a lot more grace maturity she
understands the perspective that that
she didn't have that exactly he was the
most powerful man in the world okay and
speaking of the most powerful man in the
world today it's President Trump and he
is making news you'll be shocked to
learn because he's booted out the
Philadelphia Eagles from coming to the
White House for a celebration of the I
gather they were the super bill so he
said don't come and keep the White House
is claiming it's because of the kneeling
controversy he tweeted out the
Philadelphia Eagles football team was
invited to the White House unfortunately
only a small number of players decided
to come and we canceled the event
staying in the locker room for the
playing of our National Anthem is it's
disrespectful to the country is kneeling
sorry well I mean did he cancel them
because of the kneeling or because
nobody wanted to come
none of the Eagles players actually
kneel during the season none of them
were in the locker room there was not a
single player on that team that
protested there's this picture that's
out there of other Titans a guy named
Zack Hurst he's very popular in
Philadelphia and though you're a huge
fan there's a picture's been tweeted
around over last 24 hours and Zack
finally said I was praying I wasn't I
wasn't protesting so but I think that
the president has realized that
politically this is a winning issue for
him I mean there are a lot of folks that
side with the President on this that's
true but you can't turn every protest
vote into this issue if the NFL players
as from the Eagles didn't want to go
because they don't love President Trump
or whatever and he thinks no one's
coming to the party you can't blame it
on the national anthem if they weren't
nice Megan we've seen him do this before
to Kim jong-un
do you remember he just invited him
before I just invited yeah okay we have
got to get to the latest in I don't know
it to me it's a debate over whether
sexiness can be feminist or a feminist
can be sexy the frame with the baby
right today we have two Victoria's
Secret's models speaking out defending
their role as Victoria's Secret's models
and the catwalk you know the famous
catwalk saying I don't want your talking
you've never seen it I only look at your
wife so they're saying look I do find it
empowering I I think having being sexy
has a place in even 2018 America in me
to movement and at the same time you
have the Miss America pageant coming out
today just saying they are now getting
rid of the swimsuit competition maybe
they're gonna lose their viewers their
last two in a sack why I mean let's face
it it hasn't been a popular they had a
lot of years but they're saying they're
going to get rid of the swimsuit
competition they're gonna revamp the
evening gown competition now you can
wear whatever you want and go out there
in your house robe wearing your grandma
Moses you're probably won't win and what
we're now interested only in your social
impact initiatives I mean the question
is who wants to watch that and then what
is the definition of a pageant and she
says it's no longer a pet without
but for years they maintained that it
wasn't a passion it was a scholarship
competition that's right but getting to
like the Victoria's Secret model thing
can you be found as too sexy of course
you can I mean I'm not really Victoria's
Secret's demographic for that fashion
show I'm twice their age and twice their
size I admire their commitment to diet
and fitness and dating Leonardo DiCaprio
I have to say it doesn't take any it's
okay for other women to be beautiful me
neither or to be sexy I love that they
embrace that piece of themselves and I
think we trying to make women choose
between being sexy and strong or sexy
and smart are doing them a disservice
[Applause]
[Laughter]
[Applause]
there's a critical difference between
women choosing to do something on their
own and being coerced or forced into
doing something and that's the big
difference between the Victoria's Secret
models who are choosing this as their
path in their career and they feel good
about the Miss America contestants
perhaps yes oh and the me2 movement on
the other hand where women are forced to
do things that they may not otherwise
want I don't know why they can't just
leave the swimsuit as the evening gown
is and say like well I would go out
there in my Victorian lady costume that
you know I wear to the beach I'm covered
from the next vehicle you're taking a
little different spin on Victoria I
think that is the feminist critique that
these representations of beauty are
coercive of young girls that they feel
that this is an unrealistic expectation
but I would say in this day and age we
have a lot of representation of
different types of beauty particularly
with the internet and at the same time
is that really how we want to encourage
girls to think about themselves just
about their physical appearance at all
and the attraction the attraction to
sexiness and good-looking people they
haven't been all sorts of studies on
this thing that you babies in the in the
cradle look more attractive faces than
men faces that are not conventionally
attractive we're not going to be able to
erase this from society by no longer
highlighting what have been considered
conventionally attractive weak women or
bodies we can we can add to the to the
panoply of choice the panoply what's
using monopolies at 9:00 10:00 in the
morning I do think that there is a
tendency in our society you know and
we've seen it time and time again we
overcorrect
the pendulum swings one way and we all
recognize that it's gone too far this
way and instead of coming back to the
middle the pendulum swings all the way
back that's right political system
that's exactly right and I think if amy
holmes wants to go out there and say
okay maybe I'm not the same size as
these other women I'm not wearing my
underwear in public but let's say
whatever bathing suit you wanted to wear
and then you went over to that interview
competition and you've rocked it right
she was like I think we can make a smart
choice right and say I don't need my
Miss America or my Victoria Secret model
to be like a toothpick right I can
admire another shape another size and
leave feeling like yes while I still
admired the thin whatever it is what I
would say is that I think we also just
need to cultivate our inner values and
our inner talents if you're good at math
if you want to build a you know a rocket
ship if you're a great musician or an
athlete there are other things that
girls can aspire to then walking down
around but just but nobody wants to
watch a woman standing up there doing
trigonometry I mean it's fine it's great
if you can do it but it's just not gonna
rate as a broadcast perspective that's
my prediction but god bless all of them
so we wish all of them luck the existing
contestants the old ones the new ones
all of it great to see you guys kinda
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