Town & Country Magazine, a publication that chronicles and celebrates the lifestyle of the truly rich, hosted its annual Philanthropy Summit Wednesday night, inviting a diverse and multi cultural mix of guests and speakers.  Some of the invited included:

Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda, a Pulitzer Prize, Tony-, Emmy-, and Grammy Award-winning composer, lyricist, and actor will headline the event along with his family.  Additional panelists and speakers include model Karlie Kloss, television anchor and O, The Oprah Magazine editor at large Gayle King, actor Bradley Cooper, entrepreneur Sean Parker, and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.

Additional guests and speakers included the seemingly willingly exploited Stoneman Douglas High School students of Parkland, Florida opposed to "gun violence."

 So no, most of the guests' politics were not diverse, leaning, to various degrees, left. 

Oh, yes: Monica Lewinsky, the once-22-year-old seemingly willingly exploited White House intern who had consensual sex with her boss, President Bill Clinton (D) (if you can label it consensual, given the power and age differential), over two decades ago, was also invited to speak about her cause: cyber-bullying.  Until, at the last minute, she quietly wasn't.  No longer exploitable and thanks to new technology able to give her version of what happened, she quickly shot off several tweets.

dear world:
please don't invite me to an event (esp one about social change) and --then after i've accepted-- uninvite me because bill clinton then decided to attend/was invited.
it's 2018.
emily post would def not approve.
笨交沛ｼMe

— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) May 9, 2018

p.s. ...and definitely, please don't try to ameliorate the situation by insulting me with an offer of an article in your mag.

— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) May 9, 2018

Well, the former president does seem to have more, uh, cachet than Ms. Lewinsky.  And Emma González, the Douglas H.S. shaved-head, voluble anti-gun student Clinton introduced, is definitely more contemporary news.  And more politically correct. 

And the situation might have been...awkward.  But they are all adults – all diverse and multi-cultural and into inclusiveness, aren't they?  Hmmm.

And so the evening went forth.  With the newly invited Bill Clinton.  Without Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Without the disinvited Monica Lewinsky. 

President @BillClinton welcoming @Emma4Change @alex_king737 and other brave kids working to reduce gun violence. Clinton said they are starting “to do something I failed to do - make this a voting issue.” #tandcphilanthropy pic.twitter.com/y17Xafothk

— David Gelles (@dgelles) May 9, 2018

Well, the Clinton Foundation desperately needs credibility.  And apparently T&C Philanthropy needed the money. 

But the next morning, after other media picked up and publicized Lewinsky's tweets, the story changed.  The magazine issued a weak apology about Ms. Lewinsky's unannounced absence.

We apologize to Ms. Lewinsky and regret the way the situation was handled.

"The situation."

Clinton's people also apologized, stating they were unaware of "the invitation."

President Clinton was invited to address the Town & Country Philanthropy Summit.  He gladly accepted.  Neither he nor his staff knew anything about the invitation or it being rescinded.

So good for Lewinsky for refusing to be bullied about that "situation."  And for finally realizing she too was a victim of a powerful man.

And shame on Town and Country for creating a "situation."