Stormy Daniels goes into new detail in a documentary about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with former President Trump, saying he cornered her 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 New York's Olivia Nuzzi and Denver Nicks, who began a relationship with Daniels while They were filming some of the scenes for the movie.
“Stormy” details the moments before Daniels met Trump and everything that has happened since, including a $130,000 silence payment, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, that prosecutors say Trump paid her. made to Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. That payment ultimately 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 did not 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 is different: She says that after meeting him in her hotel room and talking, she went to the bathroom, came out, and he cornered her.
“I don't remember how I got into bed, and the next thing I know he was hunched over and telling me how great I was,” she says. “It was horrible. But I didn't say no.”
In the second half of the documentary, she says: “I have maintained that it was not rape in any way. But I didn't say no because she was 9 years old again.” In the film, she talks about how a neighbor sexually abused her as a child, something she revealed in her memoir, “Full Disclosure,” in 2018.
He also expresses remorse for not trying to stop him.
“To this day, I blame myself and haven't forgiven myself for not shutting his ass up at the time, so maybe I'll give him a break before trying it with someone else,” she says. “The hardest part about all of this is that I feel like I'm partially responsible for every woman that could have come after me.”
Stormy Daniels describes what happened between her Donald Trump in the documentary: “It was horrible. But I didn't say no.”
(Peacock/Peacock)
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Peacock, when asked if the filmmakers gave Trump the opportunity to respond to claims made in the documentary, did not immediately respond to the Times' question. The press report seen by The Times does not address the issue. The documentary's release 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 attended a charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, 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 now-famous image) and was invited to dinner with him. She says in the documentary that she initially declined the invitation, but then accepted after speaking with her publicist.
She explains that she arrived at her hotel early and Trump told her to go up to her room and then they could come back downstairs. Once in her room, she says that she had a conversation with him about her career, that they had a strong relationship and that nothing raised a red flag.
“I wasn't interested in sexual performances. It was about business,” she says.
After suggesting to Daniels that he might 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 like, as a father figure who has seen her daughter treated a certain way, she could relate to me. I thought we had that mutual respect,” she relates.
Then the dynamic changed.
“And the last thing I remember was, 'I could beat 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” towards elders and men.
Daniels also talks about the harassment and threats she has received since publishing her story, intimidation that has become increasingly vitriolic, making her fear for her life and that of her daughter. She also describes what happened to her former lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who was convicted in 2022 of stealing the proceeds from her book. She appealed the conviction, but it was unanimously upheld Wednesday by a federal appeals court.
Still, Daniels says she wants to talk openly about what happened between her and Trump, including how she feels the justice system has failed her.
“I'm here today to tell my story and even if I change some people's minds, that's okay. If not, at least my daughter will be able to remember this and know the truth.”
