Former adult film star Stormy Daniels was missing from an event in East Vancouver Tuesday that paired a live viewing of the U.S. presidential debate with a documentary on her life.
Daniels was scheduled to host a Q&A at The Rio Theatre following the screening, but had trouble crossing the border into Canada, according to venue owner Corinne Lea.
“I can’t even tell you how frustrated she was,” said Lea. “She’s made some powerful enemies – it’s not easy being Stormy Daniels, she faces a lot of challenges that most of us don’t.”
The documentary, “Stormy,” was made by local filmmaker Sarah Gibson, and offers a view at the subject’s personal life in the wake of the political scandal over her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump.
Lea called the film a “really powerful documentary” that humanizes the woman behind the headlines.
“She’s a mom, you know, she has a family – she’s a highly intelligent, passionate, creative woman,” Lea said.
The theatre owner said she hopes to bring Daniels back for a do-over in the future, but decided not to cancel Tuesday’s event.
Many Democrat-supporting attendees came away from the debate portion of the evening feeling invigorated by Vice-President Kamala Harris’s performance.
Political analysts credited Harris with goading Trump into making some eyebrow-raising claims Tuesday, including that immigrants were eating Americans’ house pets.
“I find in debates in general, neither of the candidates often answers the question directly,” said Deborah Goldbloom, who attended the viewing at The Rio. “But Trump is just off the rails. I’m quite surprised, actually.”