Porn star Stormy Daniels says affair with Trump 'never happened'

Hours before a scheduled appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to follow President Trump's nationally televised State of the Union address on Tuesday night, porn star Stormy Daniels issued a signed statement addressed "To Whom It May Concern" that denied an alleged affair with Donald Trump.

"The fact of the matter is that each party to this alleged affair denied its existence in 2006, 2011, 2016, 2017 and now again in 2018," the signed statement reads. "I am not denying this affair because I was paid 'hush money' as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying it because it never happened."

The alleged affair came to prominence in early January when the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's longtime attorney Michael Cohen negotiated a secret $130,000 payment to secure Daniels' silence shortly before the 2016 presidential election.

The White House dismissed the story as "old, recycled reports." Cohen also released a statement signed by "Stormy Daniels" denying there had been an affair and calling reports of a payment "completely false."

The celebrity magazine In Touch subsequently published a transcript of an interview it said Daniels gave in 2011. The reporter, Jordi Lippe-McGraw, who spoke with Daniels according to In Touch, confirmed to the Washington Post that the transcript was an accurate reflection of their May 2011 phone interview.

Tuesday's statement came as Daniels has been cashing in on her new-found notoriety, with sold-out shows at strip clubs, an appearance at the AVN awards show in Las Vegas known as the "Oscars of Porn," as well as on national media including Inside Edition in addition to Jimmy Kimmel Live! Daniels is also scheduled to appear Thursday on The View.

The new denial also came in the wake of reports that first lady Melania Trump was upset by stories about the affair, which allegedly began soon after she gave birth to their son, Barron. The first lady recently canceled plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with her husband and retired instead to their Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Melania Trump attended the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

The authenticity of the signed statement was confirmed Tuesday by Daniels's representative Gina Rodriguez.

The statement ends abruptly. "I will have no further comment on this matter," it reads and then concludes with a promotional message: "Please feel free to check me out on Instagram at @thestormydaniels."