"It was a mutual love affair, wrong but not disgusting . . . I can understand that he wanted to save the presidency. But I don't accept he had to completely desecrate my character."

She also pointed out that it was he who started the illicit affair, saying, "Clinton said that he did it because he could, but when it started, it was because he wanted it to," according to CNS news service.

Lewinsky said her old flame's lying "makes my blood boil."

In a separate interview set for broadcast tonight on London's ITV network, Lewinsky said she was hoping that Clinton would have used his book "to acknowledge and correct the inaccurate and false statements that he, his staff and the (Democratic National Committee) made about me when they were trying to protect the presidency," according to quotes obtained by Reuters.

"He says he was proud of the way that he defended the presidency . . . [but] in the process he destroyed me, and that was the way he was going to have to do that, to get through impeachment."

"I was a young girl and to hear him saying some of the things he was saying today -- it's a shame," she added.

Editor's note: