9 Facts, Rumors & Theories About Stormy Daniels, The Porn Star Allegedly Paid $130K To Stay Quiet About Her Donald Trump Affair
It's even more twisted than we thought.
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock You've likely never have found yourself wondering much about who porn star Stormy Daniels is, at least until The Wall Street Journal reported that in October of 2016, Michael Cohen, an attorney for President Donald Trump, successfully negotiated and executed a deal to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels, 37, $130,000 in exchange for her signature on a non-disclosure agreement explicitly forbidding her from commenting on rumors alleging she engaged in sexual activity with Trump.
The affair reportedly began after the two met at the the Edgewood Tahoe golf tournament in Lake Tahoe back in 2006, just one year after his marriage to Melania on Palm Beach.
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While Trump and Daniels both deny the affair, her friend and fellow adult film star Alana Evans says differently.
Evans recounted the following to The Daily Beast:
“'It was the second day of our trip, we were in a hotel with a tattoo parlor, and the hotel had huge windows so you could see people outside. When I saw Stormy, I was like WTF? I opened the door, called out to her, and she joined me while [my colleague] got a tattoo,' recalls Evans. 'Stormy said she met Donald Trump and then tells me about the golf tournament and how she’s supposed to hang out with him later that night, and she invited me. Stormy said Donald knew exactly who she was and wanted to meet her.'
Later that evening after returning to her hotel room, Evans said Daniels kept calling, asking her to come join the party. But Evans wasn’t interested and made up reasons not to go.
'Stormy calls me four or five times, by the last two phone calls she’s with Donald [Trump] and I can hear him, and he’s talking through the phone to me saying, ‘Oh come on Alana, let’s have some fun! Let’s have some fun! Come to the party, we’re waiting for you.’ And I was like, ‘OMG it’s Donald Trump!’ Men like him scare me because they have so much power and this was way before his presidential nomination. So I bailed on them and turned my phone off.'
Evans said she talked to Daniels the next day, apologized for bailing, and asked her how the night went. 'She tells me, ‘All I’m going to say is: I ended up with Donald in his hotel room. Picture him chasing me around his hotel room in his tighty-whities.’"
Here are 9 additional facts, rumors and conspiracy theories explaining who Stormy Daniels is and whether or not she had an affair with Donald Trump when Melania was pregnant with Barron.
1. Stormy Daniels' grew up in Louisiana
Stormy was born on March 17, 1979, as Stephanie Gregory Clifford, and grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her parents divorced when she was 4-years-old, and she was primarily raised by her mother in an average/low income environment.
She began her career as a stripper at the age of 17, then transitioned into adult films in 2000. Her stage name is a combination of two sources. "Stormy" is a shout out to her status as a diehard fan of rock band Mötley Crüe (bassist, Nikki Sixx has a daughter named Storm). She chose "Daniels" after seeing an ad for Jack Daniels' whiskey referring to the brand as "a Southern favorite."
On occasion, she has also gone by the name Stormy Walters.
2. Rumors of her affair with Donald Trump first surfaced in 2011.
It may seem surprising given the amount of attention this story is currently receiving, but this is far from the first time these allegations have been made. In 2011, gossip columnist Nik Richie (real name: Hooman Karamian) published the following account on his blog, The Dirty (the screenshot below was published on The Smoking Gun). The first paragraph is said to have been written by a friend of Daniels, followed by a note from Nik himself.
"Nik, are you ready for war? I commend you on your recent story about Ashton Kutcher cheating on Demi Moore, but we have a bigger douche bag to fry. His name is Donald Trump. This man ruined my girlfriend's marriage. Donald Trump is the scum of the earth! Not only did he break up my friend's marriage, but he also cheated on Melania Trump as she was pregnant with his child. My friend had sex with Donald after one of his golfing events and he lured her to multiple hotel rooms after that. My friend wants to speak with you directly because she in in fear that Donald Trump will ruin her life more than he already has. She is pretty well known and if Donald Trump or his people are reading this, code word: "Dancing With The Stars". Nik be ready to be a household name and Donald be ready to get a divorce, unless Melania Trump has ZERO pride like Demi Moore."
"In media there are heroes and there are cowards. The cowards become friends with the enemy for personal gain and the heroes save others from the sickos of the world who hide behind their money and power. Mr. Donald Trump, as a man please come forward with honesty. I know you cheated on your wife with Stephanie Gregory Clifford aka Stormy Daniels" and now the world knows. I will be detailing the events and locations so choose your words wisely. — Nik"
Although the post received little attention, Daniels attorney sent a take-down notice to Richie, who told others that, "Oddly, while accusing The Dirty of commercially exploiting the porn star’s 'name and likeness,' [her] attorney made no claim that the story itself was false. Asked why his takedown demand did not address the veracity of The Dirty’s report, [the attorney] said, 'I have no comment on that question.'"
Richie indeed quickly removed the item from his site. He republished it in early 2016, likely coinciding with the announcement of Trump decision to run for office, and has since disappeared yet again.
3. There are reports that she tried to sell the story herself.
According to The Smoking Gun, Daniels engaged the help of Gina Rodriguez, "a former porn actress who had transitioned into representing D-list reality TV and tabloid figures looking to monetize their fleeting fame via personal appearances, staged photo shoots, and stories sold to TMZ and other gossip outlets." Rodriquez, who some refer to as a "mistress whisperer," reportedly went so far as to acquire an email from Daniels second husband, Michael Mosney, in which he memorialized his own recollections of Daniels' interactions with Trump.
For unknown reasons, Daniels' story never appears to have been purchased. However, some believe the "friend" who wrote to Richie in 2011 was Rodriquez.
4. The story of their alleged affair surfaced again in 2016.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Cohen claims, “This is now the second time that you are raising outlandish allegations against my client. You have attempted to perpetuate this false narrative for over a year; a narrative that has been consistently denied by all parties since at least 2011.”
Additionally, an article in The Hill "notes that just prior to Trump’s presidential victory in November 2016, Daniels had been slated to appear on Good Morning America but the appearance was canceled without explanation."
5. Some believe this is all a distraction.
Given the fact that this truly qualifies as old news, a conspiracy theory has surfaced with the premise that these discussions of Trump's involvement with Daniels were being purposely resurfaced in an effort to distract public from reports about August Ames, the adult film actress who died by suicide in December 2017.
Following Ames death, former "Queen of Porn," Jenna Jameson blamed several in the industry for having bullied Ames to the point she chose to take her own life. Included in those named was Jessica Drake, yet another adult film actress claiming that a non-disclosure agreement is preventing her from being able to speak out about her experience with sexual misconduct by Trump.
On the very same day the Wall Street Journal article on Daniels ran, Ames husband, Kevin Moore, shared his own view that Drake and others bear responsibility for his late wife's death.
Hence, the theory goes, a distraction was needed.
6. She's made a few forays into mainstream media.
Daniels has dipped the occasional toe into non-adult film work, although typically in somewhat related roles.
- HBO featured her in an episode of Real Sex, during which she can be seen participating in the 2001 Miss Nude Great Plains Contest.
- In 2005, Steve Carell's character in The 40-Year-Old Virgin is shown watching her in a fictional film called Space Nuts: Episode 69—Unholy Union, then later dreaming about her.
- In 2007, she had a guest role on FX series Dirt, in which she played a stripper who helps frame a basketball player.
- Later that year, she was featured several times through the music video for Maroon 5's song, "Wake Up Call."
7. Her involvement with Trump isn't her first brush with politics.
In 2009, a group of Daniels' fans tried their best to persuade her to run for Senate against Republican Senator David Vitter, whose time in office was ironically plagued by his own scandal involving his ties to the infamous "D.C. Madam." Over the course of their efforts, during which they established a "DraftStormy" website, and Daniels, who until that point had no party affiliation, registered as a Republican, and embarked on "listening tours" throughout Louisiana, stating or the record that if she did choose to run she would retire from adult film work.
On July 28, 2009, however, her campaign manager (yes, it went that far), was reported to have been the target of a car bombing, and on April 15, 2010, she made a public announcement stating she would not run or office due to the fact that "she could not afford a run for the Senate seat and stating that the media never took her candidacy seriously."
There is some speculation, however, that the decision not to run may have had more to do with the fact that on July 25, 2009, Daniels was arrested by Tampa Bay police on charges of domestic violence, "after she allegedly beat her husband in the head because she was 'upset because the way the laundry had been done'."
8. Stormy Daniels is a mom.
In 2011, Daniels gave birth to a daughter she conceived with drummer, editor, producer and sometime adult-film star Glendon Crain. The two appear to never have married.
9. A cocktail has been named after her.
In an effort to have some fun with (and undoubtedly to cash in on) the breaking news reports of Trump's alleged liaison with Daniels, Washington D.C. bar The Brighton, announced on Twitter that they would begin offering a cocktail dubbed, rather plainly, the Stormy Daniels.
"We don’t know much about politics, but we do know a dirty cocktail when we see one."
For those of you who'd like to try one at home, the drink is said to essentially be a take on the drink more commonly known as a Dark 'n' Stormy, simply replacing the standard rum with Jack Daniels' whiskey and incorporating the usual ginger beer and lime.
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Senior Editor and happily-former divorce coach & mediator Arianna Jeret is a recognized expert on love, sex, and relationships (except when it comes to her own life, of course) who has been featured in Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Post, Yahoo Style, Fox News, Bustle, Parents and more. Join her Sundays at 10:20 PM EST for answers to ALL of your questions on Facebook Live on YourTango and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on January 15, 2018 and was updated with the latest information.