A Tuesday report on ABC’s Good Morning America about adult film star Stormy Daniels filing a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen took a bizarre turn when correspondent Tom Llamas suddenly started offering viewers a glowing personal profile of the porn star.
“Now, we’re learning more about Daniels, who was known in her Louisiana high school as Stephanie Gregory,” he announced midway through the segment. “Her senior yearbook photo showing the then-aspiring journalist choosing the caption, ‘We will all get along just fine as soon as you realize that I am Queen,’” he touted. Llamas never explained what possible relevance that information had to the story.
Instead, he continued his impromptu biography of porn actress and stripper:
Today, Daniels lives in Texas with her 7-year-old daughter and husband, estranged from her mother, who told ABC News she hasn’t spoken to her daughter in years. And when she’s not on tour at adult entertainment nightclubs across the country, Daniels other hobby, horses. Here’s video of her competing at an equestrian event in 2017, but that’s on hold for now.
Wrapping up the report, Llamas offered this salacious promotion of Daniels’ upcoming performances: “Now, I am told Daniels will not stop working. She continues to have appearances where she works as an exotic dancer, including one upcoming right near Mar-a-Lago.”
It’s one thing to report on the facts of accusations and legal actions by Daniels, but this GMA segment clearly strayed into nothing more than tabloid fluff.
On Monday, while anchors and reporters were skeptical of Daniels’ Sunday night 60 Minutes appearance, all three network morning shows still devoted over an hour of air time to the story.
The double standard in the network coverage of Trump’s scandal versus the multiple Bill Clinton scandals in the 1990s has been staggering.
