‘Stormy’ revisits time with Trump
In a documentary, the adult film actress says she was cornered by the future president.
Stormy Daniels goes into new detail in a documentary about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with former President Trump, saying she was cornered by him in his hotel room the night they met and that she blames herself for not stopping him.
The adult filmmaker makes the revelation in “Stormy,” a nearly two-hour documentary premiering March 18 on Peacock. It was directed by Sarah Gibson and produced by Erin Lee Carr, and features interviews with Seth Rogen, Jimmy Kimmel, Daniels’ family and friends and several journalists, including Denver Nicks, who began a relationship with Daniels while shooting some of the scenes in the film.
“Stormy” details the moments before Daniels met Trump and all that has transpired since, including a $130,000 hush money payment, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, that prosecutors say Trump made to Daniels just before the presidential election in 2016. That payment eventually led to his indictment in New York last year for falsifying business records, with prosecutors saying it was part of a “catch-and-kill” scheme. Trump has denied the relationship and says he didn’t know about the payment, but his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, has testified that Trump ordered it.
Daniels previously told her story about the alleged sexual encounter with Trump on CBS’ “60 Minutes” in 2018, saying it was consensual. But in “Stormy,” her story differs: She says after meeting him in his hotel room and having a conversation, she went to the bathroom, came out and was cornered by him.
“I don’t remember how I got on the bed, and then the next thing I know, he was humping away and telling me how great I was,” she says. “It was awful. But I didn’t say no.”
In the latter half of the documentary, she says, “I’ve maintained that it wasn’t rape in any fashion. But I didn’t say no because I was 9 years old again.” In the film, she discusses how she was sexually abused by a neighbor as a child, something she revealed in her memoir, “Full Disclosure,” in 2018.
She also expresses remorse for not trying to stop Trump.
“To this day, I blame myself and I have not forgiven myself because I didn’t shut his a— down in that moment, so maybe make him pause before he tried it with someone else,” she says. “The hardest part about all of this is that I feel that I am partially responsible for every woman that could have come after me.”
In a statement to The Times, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung responded to Daniels’ allegations. “The only thing Stormy Daniels can be relied upon is to change her story when there’s money to be made. She has already lost massively in court and owes President Trump over $600,000 for defaming him — none of which she has paid. She has NEVER told the truth about President Trump and this ‘documentary’ is simply a last chance, low-budget fantasy sequel for a has-been pseudo-celebrity. She has once again opened herself up to tremendous legal liability and will soon be held to account.”
Peacock, asked if the filmmakers gave Trump a chance to respond to the claims made in the documentary, did not immediately respond to The Times’ question. The press screener viewed by The Times does not address the matter. The release of the documentary comes after Super Tuesday, when Trump all but clinched the Republican nomination for president.
In 2006, Trump was at the peak of his “Apprentice” fame, and he attended a charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nev., where Wicked Pictures, the studio Daniels worked for, sponsored a hole. Daniels, who worked the Wicked booth at the tournament, posed for a photo with Trump — a nowfamous image — and was invited to dinner with him. She says in the documentary that she rejected the invitation initially but then accepted after speaking to her publicist.
She explains that she arrived early at his hotel, and Trump told her to come up to his room and that they could later go back downstairs. Once in his room, she recounts having a conversation with him about her career, that they had a strong rapport and that nothing raised a red flag.
“He wasn’t interested in the sexual performances. It was all about business,” she says.
After he suggested to Daniels that he could try to get her on “Celebrity Apprentice,” Daniels says in the film, Trump told her that she reminded him of his daughter, Ivanka. “I felt that as this father figure who has watched his daughter be treated a certain way, he could identify with me. I thought we had this mutual respect,” she recounts.
Then the dynamic changed.
“And the last thing I remember was like, ‘I could totally take him if I want to scream or fight, but I’m not supposed to act like that,’ ” explaining that as a Southerner, she “was taught to show respect and be a good girl” toward elders and men.
Daniels also talks about the harassment and threats she has received since coming out with her story, intimidation that has become increasingly vitriolic, causing her to fear for her life and her daughter’s. She also describes what happened with her former lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who was convicted in 2022 of stealing her book proceeds. He appealed the conviction, but on Wednesday it was upheld unanimously by a federal appeals court.
Nonetheless, Daniels says she wants to remain vocal about what happened between her and Trump, including the way she feels the justice system has failed her.
“I am here today to tell my story, and even if I just change a few people’s minds, that’s fine. If not, then at least my daughter can look back on this and know the truth.”