Bill Clinton said his extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky was a way for him to take his “mind off” stress at work.
“Things I did to manage my anxieties for years. I’m a different, totally different person than I was, a lot of that stuff 20 years ago,” he said about his sexual relationship with Lewinsky in a segment of the upcoming Hulu documentary titled, Hillary, which was viewed by the Daily Mail.
The former president, who is now 73, did not describe his “anxieties,” but compared them to being in a boxing match.
“You feel like you’re staggering around, you’ve been in a 15 round prize fight that was extended to 30 rounds,” he said. “And here’s something that will take your mind off it for a while, that’s what happens.”
Clinton said his sexual encounters with Lewinsky, who was a 22-year-old White House intern, were the result of finding “the most stupid thing I could do and do it.”
“It’s not a defense, it’s an explanation. I feel awful,” he added.
The Republican-led House impeached Clinton in 1998 on charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice based on his attempt to conceal his affair with Lewinsky. He was acquitted by the Senate.
Hillary, a documentary that focuses on Hillary Clinton’s life, premieres Friday.
