--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was Patient Zero. The first person to…" description: "\"I was Patient Zero. The first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet.\" — Monica Lewinsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/monica-lewinsky-9034_destroyed_i-was-patient-zero-the-first-person-to-h_1107877.jpg" --- # I was Patient Zero. The first person to have their… ![“I was Patient Zero. The first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet.” quote by Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/monica-lewinsky-9034_destroyed_i-was-patient-zero-the-first-person-to-h_1107877.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/monica-lewinsky-9034_destroyed_i-was-patient-zero-the-first-person-to-h_1107877.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/monica-lewinsky-9034_destroyed_i-was-patient-zero-the-first-person-to-h_1107877.jpg) > “I was Patient Zero. The first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet.” [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She describes being the first person whose reputation was globally ruined through online media, highlighting the power of digital shaming. **In simple terms:** First online reputation destroyed. Key Takeaway Beware digital defamation. Themes reputation media social impact Mood cautious reflective Type cautionary social commentary When to use this quote - online harassment - career damage - legal battles - media literacy Key Concepts digital shaming public perception Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals protect their online reputation? - What responsibilities do platforms have? A Different Perspective Online backlash can be mitigated with proactive reputation management. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation/) ## Related quotes > [I'd have to say that the 1994 Woodstock completely destroyed anything that came after it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-benante/i-d-have-to-say-that-the-1994-woodstock-completely-destroyed-anything/) [Charlie Benante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-benante/) > [You can only be creative so long and then you're just down and out and completely destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-williams-iii/you-can-only-be-creative-so-long-and-then-you-re-just-down-and-out/) [Hank Williams III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-williams-iii/) > [Oh, don't worry you didn't break me. NO, sweetie you completely destroyed me!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzie-lynn/oh-don-t-worry-you-didn-t-break-me-no-sweetie-you-completely/) [Kenzie Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzie-lynn/) > [OH, DON'T WORRY you didn't break it baby. you completely destroyed it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-don-t-worry-you-didn-t-break-it-baby-you-completely-destroyed-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you looked at my feet, you would know for sure that I used to do ballet. They're completely destroyed and ripped up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-dobrev/if-you-looked-at-my-feet-you-would-know-for-sure-that-i-used-to-do/) [Nina Dobrev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-dobrev/) > [This is a wonderful planet, and it is being completely destroyed by people who have too much money and power and no empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/this-is-a-wonderful-planet-and-it-is-being-completely-destroyed-by/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one. I was Patient Zero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/overnight-i-went-from-being-a-completely-private-figure-to-a-publicly/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [“It is said to be the age of the first person singular”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-said-to-be-the-age-of-the-first-person-singular/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-like-to-write-first-person-because-i-like-to-become-the-character-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I was the first person in my family to play baseball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-yelich/i-was-the-first-person-in-my-family-to-play-baseball/) [Christian Yelich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-yelich/) > [I try to have something in common with my protagonists, especially when I'm writing in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-have-something-in-common-with-my-protagonists-especially/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [There were people who incorporated melody before me, but I would deem myself the first person to successfully rap and sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/there-were-people-who-incorporated-melody-before-me-but-i-would-deem/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) ## More by Monica Lewinsky > [So it was sort of an odd time because I had been hired, but my paperwork hadn't gone through. So I worked as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/so-it-was-sort-of-an-odd-time-because-i-had-been-hired-but-my/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [I think probably the qualities that I look for in a man are somewhat different than they were before I became a public person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/i-think-probably-the-qualities-that-i-look-for-in-a-man-are-somewhat/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [I've always really been a romantic at heart, and I have always wanted kids, and I think the idea of sharing your life with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/i-ve-always-really-been-a-romantic-at-heart-and-i-have-always-wanted/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [Public shaming is a blood sport that has to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/public-shaming-is-a-blood-sport-that-has-to-stop/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [When I think of the person that I thought was Bill Clinton, I think he had genuine remorse. When I think of the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/when-i-think-of-the-person-that-i-thought-was-bill-clinton-i-think-he/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [I was worried about my mom more than I was worried about the president. And then I was worried about the president, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/i-was-worried-about-my-mom-more-than-i-was-worried-about-the/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [So I think it's - what was important to me is that I found that I can't change the fact that people already have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/so-i-think-it-s-what-was-important-to-me-is-that-i-found-that-i-can-t/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [To mock at a soul in pain is a dreadful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/to-mock-at-a-soul-in-pain-is-a-dreadful-thing/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [I have spent the past several years working so hard to just move on, and to try and build a life for myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/i-have-spent-the-past-several-years-working-so-hard-to-just-move-on/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any 'abuse' came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/sure-my-boss-took-advantage-of-me-but-i-will-always-remain-firm-on/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [Women need to support other women, not cut them down. And that goes for recognizable women too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/women-need-to-support-other-women-not-cut-them-down-and-that-goes-for/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [I think anybody who really knows me knows I'm not a media hound and knows that I'm really sort of trying to do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/i-think-anybody-who-really-knows-me-knows-i-m-not-a-media-hound-and/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [Be mindful of clickbait - sensational stories designed to humiliate. Click with compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/be-mindful-of-clickbait-sensational-stories-designed-to-humiliate/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [When you see anyone being targeted, support her or him with a positive comment or emoji.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/when-you-see-anyone-being-targeted-support-her-or-him-with-a-positive/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [People who know Clinton knew the guy has a real problem keeping his hands off women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/people-who-know-clinton-knew-the-guy-has-a-real-problem-keeping-his/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) [Explore all 75 Monica Lewinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) ## More Destroyed quotes > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/poetry-fettered-fetters-the-human-race-nations-are-destroyed-or/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [You know, I often thought that the gangster and the artist are the same in the eyes of the masses. They're admired and hero-worshipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/you-know-i-often-thought-that-the-gangster-and-the-artist-are-the/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [To all conservative women out there: If you are so sure the embryo needed for stem cell research are precious human life that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/to-all-conservative-women-out-there-if-you-are-so-sure-the-embryo/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“My problem is that the human race seems to want to be destroyed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhonen-vasquez/my-problem-is-that-the-human-race-seems-to-want-to-be-destroyed/) [Jhonen Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhonen-vasquez/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [We all carry it within us: supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted, and cannot be destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/we-all-carry-it-within-us-supreme-strength-the-fullness-of-wisdom/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [Wars--and what is war except crime on a mass scale?--destroy rather than produce. The vandal that destroys a window causes not only the owner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-young/wars-and-what-is-war-except-crime-on-a-mass-scale-destroy-rather-than/) [Adam Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-young/) > ['Johnny' was a coping mechanism who could take those things which could have ordinarily destroyed me, by tweaking my past and throwing it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-vegas/johnny-was-a-coping-mechanism-who-could-take-those-things-which-could/) [Johnny Vegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-vegas/) > [Like Samson, I am ready to pull down the white man's temple, knowing full well that I will be destroyed by the falling rubble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/like-samson-i-am-ready-to-pull-down-the-white-man-s-temple-knowing/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Men will never rest till they've spoiled the earth and destroyed the animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-adams/men-will-never-rest-till-they-ve-spoiled-the-earth-and-destroyed-the/) [Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/) > [The triangle of truisms, of father, mother and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-triangle-of-truisms-of-father-mother-and-child-cannot-be/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/if-in-the-opinion-of-the-people-the-distribution-or-modification-of/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) Browse all 1,587 Destroyed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was Patient Zero. 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