Since it was revealed that President Donald Trump’s lawyer offered a $130,000 payment to porn star Stephanie Clifford — known professionally as Stormy Daniels — to keep quiet about the details of her 2006 affair with the then-billionaire during turned presidential candidate, Daniels has arguably become the most famous porn star of all time, and her earnings have likely doubled, according to Forbes.
Alec Helmy, founder of Atlantic Media, told Forbes, “Stormy’s essentially become the most famous porn star of all time. And with that level of fame comes a windfall of opportunity.”
Daniels recently went public with the details of her affair in an interview with “60 Minutes” on CBS, and although she has yet to return the hush money, that $130,000 is crumbs compared to what she’ll be making for the rest of 2018 since she struck fame by sharing the technicalities of her affair with a married Donald Trump before his presidency. (RELATED: Stormy Daniels Cashes In On Her Celebrity Renaissance)
After her affair with the president was revealed in January, she appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in February. Later that same month, it was revealed that Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen offered her hush money to keep the details of the affair private during the 2016 campaign. In March, Daniels announced plans to sue Donald Trump, and then she made an appearance on “60 Minutes” for an in-depth interview that attracted over 20 million viewers.
After each of these news stories and personal appearances were released to the public, searches for Daniels on adult websites like PornHub skyrocketed. Her quick stardom has a direct correlation with increasing business opportunities and annual earnings.
Before the scandal, her annual earnings were probably in the low millions. According to Forbes, those earnings have likely doubled since the scandal broke in January.
“Daniels landed on Jimmy Kimmel, got a character on Saturday Night Live, inked a more lucrative deal to direct adult films — and hit the touring circuit in a big way, tripling her bookings at strip clubs across the country while commanding more than double her previous appearance fees,” Forbes says.
She is currently embarking on a tour dubbed “Make America Horny Again” with scheduled appearances at strip clubs across the country. One of her bookers told reporters that she has been booked for the entire year already, “and at minimum, her rate has doubled.”