The adult film star who reportedly had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump in 2006 wouldn’t directly answer questions about the reputed relationship in a television interview broadcast Thursday, but said attention over the matter has disrupted her “strangely normal life.”
Stormy Daniels, whose real name Stephanie Clifford, was on “Inside Edition” smiled but did not answer when asked whether she had a sexual relationship with Trump, and wouldn’t answer when asked if she was paid $130,000 to prevent her from publicly discussing it a month before the 2016 presidential election as has recently been reported.
Asked whether she had any “relationship” with Trump, Daniels said, “Well, I think it’s common — you know, by looking at photos that I’ve met him.”
She also would not answer whether comments by her friend, who claimed Daniels told her at the time “Well picture this, Donald Trump chasing me around the bedroom in his tighty whities,” was accurate.
Daniels did say that, until recently, she was living a “strangely normal life” in Texas with her husband and daughter, and “then I wake up one morning and there’s, you know, news trucks and reporters outside of my house.”
Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, said in a statement after the Wall Street Journal reported the alleged payment that “These rumors have circulated time and again since 2011. President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms. Daniels.”
Related: Stormy Daniels described affair with Donald Trump in 2011 magazine interview
Daniels said she’s received threats since the news of the alleged relationship with Trump and payout was reported. She said on “Inside Edition” that she’s hired security.
Daniels said she’s “definitely very surprised with the size of the story, and also very surprised at how much stuff is just completely made up about me.”
“The big misconception is that I’m stupid, or that I’m greedy, or an opportunist or an attention… I can’t say that word, but you-know-what,” Daniels said on the program.
She also weighed in on her portrayal on “Saturday Night Live” this past weekend, in which Cecily Strong played Daniels with the line: “I’m like a liberal hero, even though I’m a Republican porn star who loves Sarah Palin” and joked “Guess what, America? I’m the hero you deserve right now.”
“Saturday Night Live is my favorite show of all time,” the real Daniels said on Inside Edition. “Did I giggle? Yes.”
She said if she could make discussions about the alleged relationship stop, she would.