Monica Lewinsky apologizes for her part in 'Plane Bae' public-shaming scandal: 'I know better than anyone'

Monica Lewinsky is apologizing for participating in a scandal that caused a woman to be doxxed and harassed on social media.

“I owe an apology to #PrettyPlaneGirl + to people who follow me here for my anti-bullying + anti-public shaming stance,” Lewinsky tweeted Sunday, referring to an internet saga — also dubbed #PlaneBae — that began with two strangers flirting on a plane and ended with one quitting social media because she feared for her safety.

While Lewinsky didn’t initiate the shaming, she took responsibility for sharing it online on the Fourth of July, when she tweeted, “[This] thread is amazing….” She also referenced the public scrutiny she faced after engaging in a sexual relationship with Bill Clinton during his presidency.

The uproar unfolded last week when Texas couple Rosey Blair and Houston Hardaway, aboard a flight to Dallas, asked another passenger, whose first name is Helen, to swap seats so they could sit together. In exchange, Blair joked, Helen might find “the love of her life.”

When a handsome man later identified as soccer player Euan Holden sat next to Helen, their chemistry was obvious, and Blair spent the entire flight live-tweeting and Instagramming photos and snippets of their conversation to an enraptured audience of thousands.

Blair also shared that at one point, Helen and Holden headed to the bathroom together, then photographed them walking off the plane together after landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Amused by the attention, Holden shared a video asking fans to respect Helen’s privacy, but when he accidentally revealed her name, the public went into snoop mode, determined to reveal her identity. Making matters worse, Blair teased her followers a now-deleted video, saying that she didn’t have Helen’s permission to disclose her identity, “‘but I’m sure you guys are sneaky.”

In response to the intense public scrutiny, Helen allegedly deleted her social media accounts and many accused Blair and Hardaway of harassment and “creepy and stalkerish” behavior. And some turned on Holden for prolonging public interest by retelling the story on Good Morning America.

Blair did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment, but on Tuesday she posted a public apology to Helen, writing in part, “When I made this and shared it, I was happy, joyful and overcome with authentic and sincere excitement. So much that I could not see the potentially exploitative nature of the outcome and my actions.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

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• ‘Mourning While Black’: Family, including dead woman, kicked out of church by priest

• ‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin says a group of ‘violent’ kids called her the n-word

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