Monica Lewinsky joins in on Taylor Swift viral ‘asylum’ meme with White House image

Author and activist Monica Lewinsky got in on the latest viral Taylor Swift meme Wednesday, using a popular lyric from the global superstar’s newest album “The Tortured Poets Department” in a nod to the media firestorm she faced while an intern in President Clinton’s White House.

The meme comes from Swift’s recent song, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” in which the singer says, “You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.”

Lewinsky posted the lyrics accompanied by a photo of the White House on the social platform X on Wednesday. The post, as of Thursday morning, had 17,000 reposts, 116,000 likes and more than 6 million views.

Users on X and other social media platforms have posted the line along with an image of an old, haunting memory, childhood hobby or phase of life.

Lewinsky’s take on the meme was met with a warm response from hundreds of users. One user replied, “You win this trend,” while another said, “Tweet of the year.“

Lewinsky was thrown into the spotlight in the late 1990s as a White House intern during the Clinton administration, when her affair with the then-president came to light. She has since become a fierce anti-cyberbullying advocate.

The trend took social media platforms by storm quickly after Swift’s latest studio album was released Friday. Two hours after the release of the album, she released a surprise second album titled “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” featuring 15 additional songs.

The album became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day, less than 12 hours after its release, Billboard reported. It also became the first album on Spotify to amass more than 300 million streams in a single day ever.