London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jun 12, 2025

Stormy Daniels: Woman at center of Trump indictment is porn star-turned-ghostbuster

Stormy Daniels: Woman at center of Trump indictment is porn star-turned-ghostbuster

Adult film star Stormy Daniels has built a lucrative business empire around her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with former President Donald Trump and earned legions of fans for her breezy retorts to those who cast her as an immoral woman.

Her popularity and profits appeared to get a boost with the news of Trump's indictment on Thursday in a case involving a $130,000 hush payment she received in the waning days of his 2016 election campaign.

"Thank you to everyone for your support and love!" she posted on Twitter after news of the criminal charges broke. "#Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in."

Daniels, 44, is an author, director and media personality. She launched her own reality TV show, "Spooky Babes", in which she searches haunted houses as a "paranormal investigator", and she once flirted with a U.S. Senate bid as a Democrat-turned-Republican.

When a Twitter user asked what "the whore" was doing one day this week, Daniels responded, "Not sure why you're curious but... Just fed my horse and mucked stalls, signing photos and #teamstormy shirts and mailing them, booking crew/location for a music video I'm directing, floating in my pool and then my live show."

"Basically the usual," she added.

She is not shy about capitalizing on the attention around her connection to Trump. She points out he has done the same - but, in her view, has faced far less criticism.

"You take the opportunity," Daniels said on a Wednesday livestream on OnlyFans, an online subscription platform known for adult content, according to a report by British newspaper The Independent. "Isn't that what America is all about?"

Trump has raised more than $2 million for his legal defense since predicting on March 18 that he would soon be arrested, according to his campaign. A Trump fundraising group sent an email asking supporters for more contributions after his indictment.

After he announced his impending arrest, searches for Daniels on the website Pornhub jumped 21,655%, according to the site's research and analysis branch.

A spokesperson for Daniels could not be reached for comment.


'VINDICATION'


Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is married to a fellow adult film star and has a young daughter and a horse farm, according to her social media profiles.

Her childhood was marred by sexual assault and poverty. Growing up in Louisiana with a single mother, "we were just trash. And my mom was a trainwreck, and my clothes didn't fit, and I was poor and I smelled," Daniels told Vice News in 2021.

Daniels said she had been a straight-A student and editor of her high school newspaper when she left home and started stripping to support herself.

She continued working in adult entertainment after graduating high school and began her career in adult films in 2002, according to the Vice News interview. Daniels soon began winning industry awards and landed roles in TV shows and films such as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up".

Daniels has said she received the hush money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied having the affair and initially disputed knowing anything about the payment.

It is unclear what charges he will face, and he has signaled he will continue his 2024 bid for the presidency as he fights the case.

In an interview with Britain's Times newspaper on Friday, Daniels called the indictment "vindication" and referred to a vulgar comment Trump made in a 2005 recording in which he boasted about forcing himself on women.

"But it's bittersweet," she said. "He's done so much worse that he should have been taken down before. I am fully aware of the insanity of it being a porn star. But it's also poetic; this pussy grabbed back."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Pentagon Initiates Review of AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Pact
Meta to Invest $15 Billion in Scale AI to Advance AGI Goals
Rare Cancer Cases Triple Among Millennials, Alarming Doctors
G7 Finance Ministers Convene in Canada with Focus on Ukraine and Trade Tariffs
UK Spending Review Prioritizes Health and Defence Amid Budget Constraints
US Raises Security Concerns Over Proposed Chinese Embassy in London
Defined Benefit Pension Reforms Expected to Unlock Limited Investment
UK Industrial Strategy Launch Delayed Amid Budget Negotiations
Crick Institute Seeks Additional Funding to Attract International Scientists
Zia Yusuf Returns to Reform UK in New Role After Brief Resignation
Bezos's Lavish Venice Wedding Sparks Local Protests
US Urges UK to Raise Defence Spending to 5% of GDP
Europe Prepares for Historic Lunar Rover Landing
Italian Parents Seek Therapy Amid Lengthy School Holidays
British Fishing Vessel Seized by France Fined €30,000
Dutch Government Collapses Amid Migration Policy Dispute
Germany Moves to Expedite Migrant Deportations
UK Commits to 3.5% GDP Defence Spending Under NATO Pressure
Scientist Returns Royal Society Prize in Protest Over Elon Musk's Fellowship
Chancellor Proposes 'Housing Bank' and £25 Billion Social Housing Boost
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows in May Amid Consumer Caution
Home Secretary Directed to Find Budget Savings to Protect Police Funding
Rolls-Royce Secures Government Backing for UK's First Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
Domestic Buyers Capitalize on London Property Market as Non-Doms Retreat
Nvidia CEO Criticizes UK's Digital Infrastructure Amid £1 Billion AI Investment Pledge
UK Commits Additional £11.5 Billion to Sizewell C Nuclear Project
UK Unemployment Reaches Near Four-Year High as Wage Growth Slows
Chancellor Reinstates Winter Fuel Payments for Majority of Pensioners
Simone Biles and Riley Gaines Clash Over Transgender Athletes in Women's Sports
California Governor Disputes National Guard Deployment Amid Rising Tensions
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
US and China Engage in Trade Discussions in London Amid Ongoing Tensions
Low Turnout Jeopardizes Italy's Citizenship Reform Referendum
EU Lawmaker Calls for Broader Exemptions in Supply Chain Legislation
France's Defense Spending Plans Threatened by High National Debt
European Small-Cap Stocks Outperform U.S. Rivals Amid Growth Revival
Switzerland Proposes $26 Billion Capital Increase for UBS
Germany's Merz Signals Continued U.S. Reliance After Meeting with Trump
Transatlantic Interest Rate Divergence Widens as Trump Pressures Powell
Sam Altman's Eye-Scanning Digital ID Project Launches in UK
Qualcomm to Acquire UK's Alphawave in $2.4 Billion Deal
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
×