Monica Lewinsky's hilarious response to Mike Pence's 'spend more time on your knees' advice

Monica Lewinski attends the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 22, 2015. Photo / Getty Images

Monica Lewinsky has fired off a zinger in response to an awkward remark made by US Vice President Mike Pence.

Speaking at a Christian lobby group's function yesterday, Mr Pence was asked how he coped with criticism about his hard-line faith.

The question appeared to relate to uproar from certain sections of the community over his wife Karen's decision to resume a part-time teaching role at a school that banned the employment of gay staff.

Mr Pence had some advice for the questioner, saying: "Number one is, spend more time on your knees than on the internet."

Social media reacted quickly to the cringe-worthy unintended double meaning of the remark, with author Lauren Duca tweeting: "OK, who's gonna tell him?"

A simple response from Ms Lewinsky spread like wildfire and drew plenty of admiration for its self-deprecating humour, news.com.au reports.

"Def not me," she tweeted.

def not me. 👀

— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) August 7, 2019

Ms Lewinsky was one of the most talked-about figures of the late 1990s after it emerged she was having an affair with then-President Bill Clinton while working as a White House intern.

He swore publicly that he "did not have sexual relations with that woman" when the news emerged.

The justification for that mistruth later was that the pair had only engaged in oral sex. Ms Lewinsky became the butt of countless jokes for years.

The relationship was the catalyst for Mr Clinton's impeachment, which initially stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by Paula Jones.

Ms Lewinsky told a co-worker, Linda Tripp about her relationship with Mr Clinton, which lasted from 1995 to 1997 and included sexual encounters in the Oval Office.

Ms Tripp began secretly recording their conversations and gave the tapes to Kenneth Starr, who was investigating the president already.

He then broadened his investigation and Ms Lewinsky was called before a grand jury.

After a period of time during which she appeared to live life as a recluse in response to the public shaming over the affair, she re-emerged as a public figure, activist, and fashion impresario.

She has since become an anti-bullying spokesperson and presented at major events about dealing with public shame.

It's not the first time Ms Lewinsky has poked fun at her notoriety.

Last month, she took to Twitter to respond to a post that asked for "the worst career advice you've ever received".

Her response? "An internship at the White House will be amazing on your resume."

Mr Clinton's impeachment saga will be the subject of a new television drama, in the form of the third season of Ryan Murphy's anthology series American Crime Story.

Lady Bird star Beanie Feldstein has been cast as Ms Lewinsky.