WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—In a back office at Chi Chi LaRue’s adult boutique, Stormy Daniels is freshening up her hair and makeup before heading back out onto the floor to pose for press and meet her fans. It had already been a big day for her, having celebrated Stormy Daniels Day in West Hollywood on Wednesday, May 23, by receiving a Key to the City.
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, real-life protestors and intense media attention.
“That’s a hard NO,” she said emphatically when it was mentioned the attention is not something she sought out or asked for.
“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 always comfortable coming out to a straight strip club, so I wanted to find an outlet to meet with them.”
And it turns 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 anxiously for their chance to get an 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.”
Those who were unable to attend the in-store event can find #TeamStormy T-shirts and more on StormyStore.com, or find them at Chi Chi LaRue’s, 8861 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA, or ChiChiLaRues.com.
