Letterman: ‘I feel bad’ about humiliating Monica Lewinsky

David Letterman acknowledged his role in the spectacle surrounding Monica Lewinsky and said Wednesday night that he regrets making her the butt of countless jokes following her affair with then-President Bill Clinton.

“The Late Show” host sat down with retiring ABC News’ Barbara Walters, who said it’s time to “turn the page” on the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.

“I like Monica and I felt that she’s never had the chance to move on and I hope that she does,” Miss Walters said. “I hope she’s given the chance.”

Mr. Letterman brought up Miss Lewinsky’s recent Vanity Fair article, in which she said the infamous affair has prevented her from being able to land a decent job.

“I started to feel bad, because myself and other people with shows like this made relentless jokes about the poor woman, and she was a kid. She was 21, 22 or something,” he said.

“So I’m thinking … it’s sort of like the violence in the elevator,” he continued, referencing a surveillance video leaked last week that showed Solange Knowles violently attacking Jay Z.

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“Is it funny because they’re just famous? Or overall with some perspective do you realize this is a sad human situation?” Mr. Letterman pondered.

“I feel bad about my role in helping push the humiliation to the point of suffocation,” he said.

Miss Walters noted: “President Clinton has been able to move on. Hillary Clinton may run for president. I wish them both well. Monica is still stuck in the humor of it, and she is an intelligent and nice woman.”

Miss Lewinsky, now 40, wrote in Vanity Fair that she “deeply” regretted the affair she had with the president in 1998, but assured readers that their relationship was purely consensual.

“It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress,” she wrote. “I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened.”