A photo of Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the heart of former President Donald Trump's trial in New York City, has gone viral on social media showing her wearing a dress covered in mushroom print on her way to the Manhattan trial.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is the first former president in United States history to stand trial in a criminal case. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide payments to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
In what appeared to be a teasing reference to Trump, the photo showed Daniels in a provocative dress that echoed comments she made about the former president in a tell-all book in 2018.
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by user @DoughWahl1, posted on April 22, 2024, viewed 412,000 times, said "IS THIS FOR REAL?
"I can't confirm this, but the internet is circulating this picture of Stormy Daniels walking into the courtroom today in a mushroom dress.
"If this is true, how much do you love this?"
The post included a photo of what appeared to be Daniels wearing a blue dress with a toadstool mushroom print.
The Facts
The mushrooms refer to a description of Trump from Daniels' book, Full Disclosure, released in 2018.
The characterization has been repeatedly used against the president since. The photo shared on Twitter is a less-than-subtle reference to that passage from the book.
Daniels, whose full name is Stephanie Clifford, has continued to provide details of her alleged affair with Trump, including in the recently released documentary Stormy in which she said she felt "like I am partially responsible for every woman that could have come after me."
While Daniels has maintained the affair happened, something that Trump has denied, the photo of her wearing a dress covered in toadstool mushrooms is not real.
The original photo was taken in 2018 of Daniels arriving for an appearance on The View. Similar photos were taken by Reuters and Daniels wore the same dress in her appearance on The View.
In any case, Daniels has not been called as a witness in the trial yet and it's not clear when she will appear.
Newsweek has contacted a media representative for Daniels via email for comment.
Judge Juan Merchan is set to hold a hearing on Tuesday that will determine whether Trump violated a gag order after prosecutors introduced a motion to sanction Trump for social media posts that they argue violate the order, which prohibits him from publicly attacking witnesses and jurors.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is seeking the maximum $1,000 fine for each of the 10 posts it says are in violation.
The Ruling
False.
The photo of Stormy Daniels wearing a mushroom dress is fake.
It is an edited version of a photo taken in 2018 before an appearance on the talk show The View.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
