There's stormy weather ahead for Donald Trump as the world tunes in to news of
his indictment. But what's been going on with the person who started it all?
Stormy Daniels, born Stephanie Clifford, is an adult film star who skyrocketed to greater fame
and infamy in 2018, during the controversial presidency of Donald Trump. At the time,
it was reported that the former president and his former attorney, Michael Cohen,
paid Daniels around $130,000 in hush money during
the 2016 presidential campaign to stay silent about an affair they had in 2006.
Cohen was prosecuted and convicted on numerous federal charges,
including a campaign finance law violation, after he pled guilty.
On March 30, 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office announced
that former president Donald Trump has been indicted for his role in the hush
money paid to Stormy Daniels after their reported sexual affair. This
makes Trump the first president to ever face criminal charges. That also means
Daniels possibly is the first adult film star in history to take down a president.
"Tonight Manhattan is a media circus. We're hearing from Michael Cohen,
Stormy Daniels, Trump spokespeople, and potential political opponents."
A grand jury voted to bring charges against the 45th president for his role in paying
Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet, and comes after a nearly five-year DA investigation. Trump has
denied the accusations in a statement posted to Truth Social which began:
"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history."
So far, Daniels seems to be staying relatively quiet about the indictment. She initially
quote-tweeted a self-identified trial lawyer who wrote on Twitter,
"The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and
conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now
let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law. #teamstormy."
Daniels simply replied, "Thank you."
Following that, she tweeted:
"Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming
in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne."
Now that she's been thrust back into the national spotlight, fans might be wondering
what the former adult film star is up to today so many years after the scandal has
passed. Well as it turns out, she is not backing away from the industry which made her so famous
in the first place. She's also been starring in – and hosting – several television series.
In 2021, VH1 announced the revival of their classic reality TV series,
"The Surreal Life," which they teased would star, among others, Stormy Daniels. Season 7,
which aired sixteen years after Season 6, premiered in late October 2022,
and indeed included Daniels teaching tricks of the trade to her fellow stars.
Although Daniels initially did not want to appear on the show,
she finally accepted the offer after she realized that reality television would be the
best way for her to answer fans' questions. Daniels told OK Magazine in October 2022:
"I initially repeatedly said no. [...] But then to get the opportunity to tell the story from our
side without any editors or coaching or scripting ... that was the reason why I wrote my book,
'Full Disclosure.' But people still to this day ask me questions that are answered in the book."
"So I learned that America doesn't read, so you have to put it on reality TV."
In November 2022, Deadline announced that Daniels would be hosting a new dating show for gay men,
called "For The Love of DILFs," which began airing on the LGBT network OUTtv on January 31,
2023. According to Deadline, Daniels, as host, lives with the hopeful couples in a
mansion and serves both as host and advisor as they explore the potential for dating.
What many may not know is that Daniels is actually a member of the LGBT community herself. In 2019,
she came out as bisexual and has slept with both men and women on-screen in the past.
Furthermore, like many others in the adult film industry,
Daniels has recently started an OnlyFans page. Daniels, who is 44 as of March 2023,
has been promoting the advent of this new stage in her career heavily on social media.