David Letterman: I Regret Mocking Monica Lewinsky

Barbara Walters stopped by the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday, and the longtime pals talked about the recent comeback of Monica Lewinsky—who recently wrote a first-person essay for the June issue of Vanity Fair.

“Monica Lewinsky has resurfaced,” Letterman said. “You would talk to her in a second, right?”

“I like Monica and I felt that she’s never had the chance to move on and I hope that she does,” Walters said. “I hope she’s given the chance.”

Letterman noted that in the recent Vanity Fair article, Lewinsky said she can’t get a job anywhere. “And then I started to feel bad,” Letterman said. “Because myself and other people with shows like this made relentless jokes about the poor woman. And she was a kid, she was 21, 22 — ”

Then Letterman expressed regret over teasing Lewinsky: “I feel bad about my role in helping push the humiliation to the point of suffocation.”

The two hosts are both nearing the end of their careers, as Walters is about to bid farewell to The View and Letterman is set to end his run as TV host of the Late Show.