“Stormy” was directed by Sarah Gibson, but some of the footage we see was shot in 2018 by Denver Nicks, a filmmaker who was directing a documentary about Daniels, and who briefly became romantically involved with her (that’s one of the reasons her marriage ended). We see how Daniels, riding high for a while on the scandal, becomes a symbol of the resistance, yet she also becomes the scandal’s extreme victim. This happens around the time that Trump files a $20 million lawsuit against her for defamation. It’s not a fair fight: He’s got the money to keep her entangled in legal costs, and he also has the power of the presidency. The Stormy Daniels saga may be history as tabloid fodder, and as high-priced political chicanery, but for Daniels it became a car-wreck-in-slow-motion tragedy. For Trump, the scandal has been an ongoing embarrassment. Yet “Stormy” shows you what the scandal looks like from inside the sensationalist bubble of fame, and by the end of the film you may be a little bit ashamed of us all.
Stormy airs on Mar 18 on Peacock.
The more I learn about Stormy, the more I like and respect her. I feel terrible about the shit she’s gone through because of the mushroom-man, but she always manages to come across as the most reasonable person in the whole saga. It’s pretty refreshing how she talks about sex and money, too.