Walters's exclusive interview with Monica Lewinsky in 1999 became the highest-rated news program ever broadcast by a single network.
In 1999, Barbara Walters secured and conducted the first television interview with Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern at the center of the scandal that led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment. The two-hour special aired on ABC's 20/20 and drew a staggering audience of roughly 74 million viewers, making it, according to ABC, the highest-rated news program ever broadcast by a single network up to that point.
Landing the interview required Walters to navigate an extraordinarily delicate and high-stakes situation, with intense competition from other networks and enormous public curiosity about Lewinsky's account of events. Walters's calm, probing, yet empathetic interviewing style allowed Lewinsky to speak candidly about the affair and its aftermath, providing a definitive, widely-watched account that shaped public understanding of the scandal.
The interview stands as a testament to Walters's unmatched ability to secure access to the most sought-after interview subjects of her era, whether world leaders, celebrities, or private citizens thrust into extraordinary circumstances. It reinforced her reputation, built over decades, as the journalist who could get the interview no one else could, and it remains one of the most-watched news broadcasts in American television history.