On Tuesday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Stormy Daniels — and the exchange was incredibly awkward at times. The interview commenced with a fairly standard conversation, but then became a bit less traditional as Kimmel brought out props later in the discussion. The props included puppets of Daniels and President Trump.
Daniels, a former adult film star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has garnered significant media attention in recent weeks, after InTouch magazine published portions of an interview it had conducted with Daniels in 2011. In the interview, Daniels claimed she and Trump had had an affair. According to the Wall Street Journal, one month before the 2016 presidential elections, one of Trump's lawyers reportedly arranged for Daniels to receive $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement barring her from discussing the reported interaction. Trump's lawyer has firmly denied the allegations.
This week, Daniels reportedly released a statement denying the affair. However, on Kimmel's show, she appeared to deny that the signature on the statement was her own, saying to the host, “But that does not look like my signature, does it," when asked about the statement. She also added, “I do not know where it came from ... it came from the internet.”
Kimmel opened the show by discussing the aforementioned statement, as it had been released just hours prior to Daniels' appearance. He then moved to inquiring as to whether Daniels actually had a nondisclosure agreement barring her from discussing the reported affair. Daniels was vague in her responses to Kimmel, but appeared to imply the existence of such an agreement without actually confirming it.
When Kimmel asked her if she had a nondisclosure agreement, she responded, "Do I?" He then pushed further, querying, “If you didn’t have an non-disclosure agreement you most certainly could say you don’t have an non-disclosure agreement, yes?” This prompted Daniels to reply, “You’re so smart, Jimmy."
The interview proceeded with Kimmel asking questions about the transcript of Daniels' interview with InTouch and about her feelings on the attention that she has received since its publication.
The interview then started to take a somewhat awkward turn when Kimmel brought out props, particularly the aforementioned puppets of Daniels and Trump, with the latter puppet dressed in its underwear. In revealing the puppets, Kimmel said, "I know you can't answer any questions because of this NDA you don't have, but, Stormy puppet perhaps can answer some questions."
Kimmel then attempted to play the game "Never Have I Ever" as Daniels held the puppet, asking Daniels a variety of "yes or no" questions that all appeared to indirectly query whether she had had an affair with Trump. For example, Kimmel asked, "Never have I ever had sex with a married man" and "Never have I ever watched Shark Week in a hotel room with the host of a reality show." Daniels sometimes responded to the questions with the puppet, nodding its head or not moving it, but it was not completely clear whether her intended responses and Kimmel's interpretation of them was the same.
In another segment of the show, Kimmel also appeared to be watching Trump's State of the Union with Daniels. The puppets again made an appearance in this segment, with Kimmel, who was holding the Trump puppet, asking Daniels to "show me on the puppet what he did to you." Daniels responded by holding up her own puppet, which had a piece of duct tape covering its mouth.
Overall, Kimmel's interview with Daniels certainly took an interesting tone, particularly with the addition of the puppet props. Indeed, some on social media wondered if President Trump will see the interview — and if he will share his thoughts on its content.
