Monica Lewinsky Didn't Change Her Last Name Because Bill Clinton Didn't Have To

Monica Lewinsky has revealed she never changed her last name because why the hell should she?

The anti-bullying advocate spoke to John Oliver on Sunday night about public shaming, and the downright sexist nature of the scandal she was embroiled in opposite Bill Clinton in the mid-90s.

While interning at the White House, beginning age 22, Lewinsky began an intimate relationship with the then-President which led to his impeachment and her becoming a focal point for unyielding international ridicule.

The 45-year-old told the "Last Week Tonight" host that the notoriety around the name Lewinsky prevented her from getting a job for years afterward; but despite this, she never considered changing it on principle.

"Bill Clinton didn't have to change his last name," she said. "Nobody's ever asked him did he think he should change his last name. I think that's an important statement."

In the wake of the scandal, Lewinsky became a target for unrelenting abuse.

"It was a shit-storm. It was an avalanche of pain and humiliation," she said.

"At 24 years old it was really hard to hold on to a shred of dignity or self-esteem, when you're just the butt of so many jokes."

"Not only just the slut-shaming, not only having had an intimate relationship with someone who is now describing me in a way that no young woman would want to be described," she said, people constantly attacked her weight and her looks.

On top of that, the sexist branding of the scandal with her surname meant it would follow her forever.

"This sexist thing happened, which is that the scandal became named after me," she said. "So it meant that any time this has been referenced, every single day in the past 20 years, it may not be a direct reference to me, but because the investigation and the scandal has my name, I'm therefore attached to it."

Indeed as Oliver revealed, Lewinsky's name is referenced in at least 193 raps songs — despite its difficult to rhyme nature.

Lewinsky said that the jobs she was offered were for the wrong reasons: "'Oh you'll be coming to our events, that's your job and there's media there,'" she recalled or "'Can you get us a letter of indemnification from the Clintons, because we rely on Government money, and Hillary might be President'."

Nevertheless, she stood by her principles — and her last name.

"I'm not proud of all of the choices I've made in my life, but I'm proud of the person I am, I'm not ashamed of who I am," she said.

"As hard at it has been to have that last name sometimes, and the pain that I have felt for what its like for the other people in my family who have that last name — I'm glad I didn't change it."

Earlier in the show Oliver — in a move that may come back to haunt the comedy show host — attacked his late night predecessors for their part in publicly shaming Lewinsky.

He swung especially hard at Jay Leno, who was particularly fond of Lewinsky gags, and who just last week called for more civility in late night comedy.

Referencing the time Leno unveiled a fake Dr Seuss book entitled "The Slut In The Hat", Oliver offered a Seuss-inspired book of his own called: "Oh, The Places You Can Go F--k Yourself, Jay Leno!"