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Stormy Daniels Was On 'The View' & These 8 Moments Are Must-See TV
Tuesday's episode of The View was almost entirely dedicated to one topic: Stormy Daniels. The adult film star and director joined the women of the ABC daytime television show for her only live interview to date, together with her lawyer Michael Avenatti. The biggest reveal was the composite sketch of the man she says threatened her, but there are several must-see moments of Stormy Daniels on The View you shouldn't miss.
Daniels "has been on a mission to be heard," Whoopi Goldberg said introducing the show's main guest. The most intriguing parts of the show are mixed throughout the episode, but the one gaining the most attention is the segment when Daniels and Avenatti introduced the sketch of the man that Daniels said threatened her, warning her not to share her story about the alleged affair with Trump, which the president denies.
Avenatti and Daniels have established an email, IDthethug@gmail.com, to accept tips from anyone with information on who the man could be. The reward for information that leads to his identification is $100,000.
But that is not the only interesting part of Daniels' time on The View Tuesday. The hosts, mostly, welcomed her warmly, and they didn't shy away from any questions.
1No More Bullying
Long-time co-host Joy Behar addressed asked why Daniels would speak out when it potentially costs $1 million every time she speaks out. "How come you came here today?" Behar asked. Daniels responded:
Because I'm tired of being threatened. And intimidating me and trying to say that you'll ruin my life and take my, you know, all my money and my house or whatever. I'm sorry. I'm done. I'm done being bullied.
2Meghan McCain Goes On The Offensive
McCain took an adversarial tone with Daniels throughout the entire program, starting in on her for going to the hearing on Michael Cohen, the same hearing where Sean Hannity's name was released as one of Cohen's clients.
Afterward, Daniels spoke to the press and said, "My attorney and I are committed that everyone finds out the truth and the facts of what happened, and I will not rest until that happens."
McCain implied that Daniels had no business being there and was just in it for the press. "It seems like a publicity stunt on some level," McCain said, adding that Daniels "didn't have anything to do with the case." She added:
I understand that you're being sued by our president, but it does seem like you're benefiting a lot. ... I hadn't heard your name until all of this had happened, and now you are literally live on The View giving an entire interview with us.
Avenatti corrected McCain. "As it relates to us having nothing to do with the case, I mean, that's just not accurate," Avenatti said. He explained that the judge granted him access to that case because some of the seized documents relate to Daniels. "In fact, the warrants stemmed in significant part from what happened to my client, so we had every right to be there."
Daniels added why she wanted to go too:
I just wanted to make my presence known and make people know that I was taking it seriously. I didn't know if they would talk anything about papers related to my case. I just wanted to be prepared.
3On The Money
McCain also pushed Daniels on the amount of money that she has made as a result of the controversy. Daniels countered that she is probably making more money, but she has to spend a lot more of it too, on things like bodyguards and a tutor for her daughter.
"Yes, I've gotten more bookings than usual, but I'm doing the job that I've been doing for the last almost 20 years," Daniels said. "Yes, there's a lot of publicity, but I didn't do it for that because this isn't what I want to be known for."
And bodyguards are expensive. "I have to feed them three times a day and they are big," she added.
4Trump's Acting Chops
The View producers rolled footage of Trump denying knowledge of the payment that Cohen made to Daniels or where the money came from.
"Let me just say, I work in the adult business and I'm a better actress than he is," Daniels said.
5Sleeping With Men You're Not Attracted To
Joy Behar wanted to know why Daniels — or anyone — would sleep with someone they're not attracted to when they don't have to. Daniels tried to answer:
I think there's a lot of different reasons, and I'm not going to presume to know what any woman is thinking in that moment, of course. But you could say... I know women who have slept with men out of pity, or because they didn't know how to say no, or they felt like they had put themselves in this position where it'd be more difficult or more troublesome long-term to say no, which is, you know, sort of where I was at. ... And some people just like notches in their belt. I mean, there's so many different reasons.
6Meghan McCain Thought Of The Trump Family
"It's got to just kill them," McCain said, though she went on to acknowledge that the president did it and is "completely in the wrong as well."
7Avenatti: Cohen Will Turn On Trump
Avenatti didn't mince words. He made it very clear he thought Cohen would turn on Trump, echoing statements he said Monday night on MSNBC. He said:
I think there's no question in my mind that Michael Cohen a) is going to be indicted, within the next three months likely, and b) he is going to roll on the president. ... Based on my 18 years of experience, based on my experience in white-collar cases and how they usually play out, and based on the fact that Michael Cohen has a family, he has kids — I understand that he is a fairly devoted father — and he's not going to look at his wife and say, "No, I'm going to take a bullet for this president."
8Empowering Other Women
Daniels had one closing statement that she wanted to share about what she's doing and her end game, right before the final credits. She said:
If I can inspire or convince a woman who feels that she has been intimidated or bullied or is too afraid to come forward, to an accuser, an attacker, then I'm happy. That you absolutely have the right and you should stand up for yourself and you should not be afraid or bullied.
Goldberg signed off as normal, urging viewers to "take a little time to enjoy the view."