WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Long before Stormy Daniels made her way to Chi Chi LaRue’s on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, Calif., on Wednesday afternoon, news crews and paparazzi crowded the sidewalk in front of the adult boutique. After all, it’s not every day a porn star gets a Key to the City.
Daniels, who dressed for the occasion in a fashionable little black dress, showed no nervousness as she accepted the honors.
Daniels was awarded the Key to the City during a ceremony Wednesday afternoon at adult retail boutique Chi Chi LaRue’s, on Santa Monica Boulevard. In an earlier statement, West Hollywood city officials noted, “In these politically tumultuous times, Daniels has proven herself to be a profile in courage by speaking truth to power even under threats to her safety and extreme intimidation.”
With her attorney, Michael Avenatti, and close friends by her side, Daniels was all smiles as Mayor John Duran and Mayor Pro Tem John D’Amico made their announcements and delivered her with the shiny gold key.
“She is fighting back for herself, and she is fighting for the Resistance and she is fighting back for all of us to get our country back,” Duran said before the crowd erupted into applause and cheers.
Avenatti, who is Daniels’ legal counsel for her lawsuits against Donald Trump, told those gathered, “Stormy Daniels is one of the most intelligent, self-aware and courageous people you will ever come to know in your life. We are very, very happy and very, very blessed that she is at the forefront … She is not backing down and she is in this for the long fight.”
While it was a festive scene to begin with, D’Amico couldn’t resist adding a little more levity to the ceremony.
“What did the Mayor Pro Team say to the porn star?” he asked before handing over the key. “Congratulations!”
“I would like to thank the mayor and the city council for this honor,” Daniels said. “And I want to thank the one and only Chi Chi LaRue for hosting this!
“Everyone in this community has a history of treating people with dignity and fairness,” she added. “This community has a history of standing up for people, so I am incredibly honored by all of this.”
Rob Novinger, CEO of Channel 1 Releasing, said the entire store event and key ceremony were a whirlwind to plan, but that it was well worth it.
“The mayor and Chi Chi are close fiends, so when the mayor saw Chi Chi’s tweet about the store event, he called,” Novinger said. “We had some talks and we got it done. It all came together within the last week. We knew it was going to be insane, but we didn’t know it was going to be this insane. There are people from all over the world here covering this, and for the City of West Hollywood, this is probably the biggest press event they’ve ever had.”
But it wasn’t just reporters in attendance. Several fans were on hand to show their support.
Sham Ibrahim, a Stormy supporter, drove all the way from Palm Springs, Calif., and dressed in drag—a short blue dress with gold sequins, black fishnets and matching metallic gold go-go boots—said admiration for Stormy led to the trip.
“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 award-winning adult performer, director and AVN Hall of Fame member was scheduled to be back at Chi Chi LaRue’s at 7 p.m. for an in-store event to sell T-shirts from her StormyStore.com site. The shirts are branded with the hashtag #TeamStormy, and a portion of all sales are being donated to organizations and charities that help with anti-bullying efforts.
Daniels started making mainstream headlines when news broke of an alleged affair she had with Donald Trump in 2006. Attention on the alleged affair grew when it was determined that Trump’s personal attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money to Daniels just days before the 2016 general election. Since then, Daniels has sued to be let out of an NDA, and also has sued Trump for defamation. The original lawsuit is on hold after a judge said there could be significant overlap between the civil case and an ongoing criminal investigation against Cohen.
For more, visit ChiChiLaRues.com or StormyStore.com.
