Washington (CNN) Former President Bill Clinton used the opening of a book tour event in New York on Monday to respond to a defensive interview he gave NBC News in which he defended his handling of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and said that he didn't have to apologize to her.

Asked by author Walter Mosley about the response, Clinton said, "The truth is, the hubbub was I got hot under the collar because of the way the questions were asked. And I think what was lost were the two points that I made that are important to me."

"The suggestion was that I never apologized for what caused all the trouble for me 20 years ago," Clinton said. "First point is, I did. I meant it then, I meant it now. I apologized to my family, to Monica Lewinsky and her family and to the American people before a panel of ministers in the White House, which was widely reported. So I did that. I meant it then and I mean it today. I live with it all the time."

Clinton added: "The second is that I support the Me Too movement and. Think it is long overdue, and I have always tried to support it in the decisions and policies that I advanced. Beyond that, I think it would be good if we could go on with the discussion."

The former president had defended himself from recent criticism of his affair with Lewinsky in light of the #MeToo movement, telling NBC News in an interview that aired Monday that he never reached out to the former White House intern following the scandal.

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