Page 48 - AVN July 2018

FEATURE | By Sherri L. Shaulis
FEATURE |
(Continued from page 46)
“I’m a fan. Stormy for president!” Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim admitted not knowing much about Daniels before
seeing her name in the news, but is now a big supporter.
“Honestly, I’m not that savvy with the heterosexual adult
film world,” Ibrahim said. “But now Stormy is like many of
my religious icons: Cher, Madonna ... she is an icon now.
What she is doing is more important than, like, Taylor Swift.
She is speaking truth and holding people accountable and
good for her.”
Even other local businesses got in on the action.
Yogurt Stop, just down the block from Chi Chi LaRue’s,
had a chalkboard easel set up on the sidewalk with the
announcement of “Today’s Flavor of the Day: A Storm’s A
Comin’.”
The pomp and circumstance wasn’t expected, Daniels said,
but very much appreciated. She even jokes she already has a
special place to display the key.
“Around my neck!” she told AVN. “These keys keep getting
bigger. Penthouse gave me my first key, then I got my big
pink diamond key for being Penthouse Pet of the Century, and
now I have this one!”
The jokes and the smiles come naturally for Daniels, who’s
worked to make the best of her current reality. In addition
to continuing to perform and direct, as well as feature dance
nationwide, she’s had to deal with everything from internet
trolls and real-life protestors to intense media attention.
“That’s a hard NO,” she said emphatically to the
suggestion that the attention was something she sought out
or asked for.
“MY FAN BASE WAS ALWAYS
WHITE MEN WITH MONEY,
BUT NOW THERE ARE WOMEN
COMING IN GROUPS TO THE
CLUBS WHEN I’M DANCING.
I’M SEEING PEOPLE OF EVERY
COLOR AND EVERY
ORIENTATION COMING OUT
TO SEE ME AND OFFER THEIR
SUPPORT.”
— STORMY DANIELS
“But she’s handling it all pretty fucking well,” a member
of her entourage said. “I’ve known her since well before all
this started, and been spending an awful lot of time with her
recently She hasn’t changed a bit, She’s a fucking unicorn.”
In her efforts to make the best of it all, Daniels teamed
up with “my two gay dads,” referring to close friends Keith
Munyan and J.D. Barrale, to create T-shirts and bracelets with
the hashtag #TeamStormy to sell on the website
StormyStore.com. The team set up an in-store event at
Chi Chi LaRue’s to sell merchandise, but also to meet with
some of the newest members of her fan base.
“I’ve noticed my demographic has been changing,” Daniels
said. “My fan base was always white men with money, but
now there are women coming in groups to the clubs when
I’m dancing. I’m seeing people of every color and every
orientation coming out to see me and offer their support.”
That was part of why she specifically chose an adult store
in West Hollywood for the public debut of her #TeamStormy
shirts.
“There are a lot of gay guys who are reaching out to me,
and they are not coming to see me because they are fans of
my work,” she said. “I am grateful for them but they are not
48 | AVN.com | 7.18
Fans and photographers came out to meet Daniels at a signing event inside Chi Chi LaRue’s adult boutique in West Hollywood.
always comfortable coming out to a straight strip club, so I wanted to find an outlet to meet with them.”
And it turned out many fans wanted to meet with her. A line of people stretched around the store, out
the door, down the block and around the corner. All of them waited for their chance to get autographed
headshots and their own #TeamStormy shirts.
A portion of each T-shirt sale is being donated to charities and organizations that help with anti-
bullying efforts.
“I wanted to donate to a charity, and anti-bullying felt like the right thing,” she said. “I didn’t want to
donate to something that was demographic or gender specific. And being bullied hits close to home. It
felt authentic to donate to fight bullying.”
Find #TeamStormy T-shirts and more on StormyStore.com, or at Chi Chi LaRue’s, 8861 Santa Monica Blvd., West
Hollywood, ChiChiLaRues.com.