Rudy, Let’s Talk About Sex Work, Reputations And Credibility

Calico thinks it’s pretty rich for Rudy Giuliani to question Stormy Daniels’ credibility and to question whether it’s possible to defame someone who works in porn. Does a former prosecutor really want to suggest sex workers have no credibility? Has he never tried a case in which a prostitute was an eyewitness to a crime? Does he really want people to weigh Daniels’ credibility against that of his client, considering that various fact-checkers have counted over 3000 lies the President has told since being elected? Plus, don’t lawyers lie all the time on behalf of their clients? Speaking of which, does Giuliani really know Melania Trump believes her husband’s denial of the affair with Stormy, or was he talking out his ass when he said that? After all, Melania’s spokesperson sure seems to think the latter is the case.

Read all about it in Calico’s latest post, “Rudy, Let’s Talk About Sex Work, Reputations And Credibility”

– Calico Rudasill, Sssh.com

Mostly because I’m sick to death of modern American politics and the sordid, pathetic clusterfuck it has become, I don’t write much about politics in my silly little posts about sex, porn and other things which are way more fun than parsing every word which comes out of any given politician’s or pundit’s face-hole.

At the same time, I feel like I can’t ignore a certain set of remarks emitted by former Mayor of New York and current Donald Trump mouthpiece Rudy Giuliani, however, because what he said effectively wrote off as unworthy of our respect and attention literally hundreds of women and men whom I know personally.

I’m talking about porn performers and other sex workers I know, some of whom are among the smartest, kindest, most honest and ethical people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting – and who Giuliani effectively mass-slandered in some of his recent comments.

How Can She Be Damaged? Let Me Count The Ways

“The business you were in entitles you to no degree of giving your credibility any weight,” Giuliani said, referencing the fact Stormy Daniels is a porn performer. “Explain to me how she could be damaged. I mean, she has no reputation. If you’re going to sell your body for money, you just don’t have a reputation. I may be old fashioned, I dunno.”

OK, Rudy, here’s how she “could be damaged” – and, really, it’s not particularly complicated stuff. For that, seeing as how you’re a lawyer (purportedly, at least) I’d expect you to be already aware of it.

In the adult entertainment business, just like any other business, people tend to not want to work with, for, or around those they cannot trust.

Claiming Stormy Daniels is a liar – to the extent people believe President Trump (a man whose own credibility is often held in doubt) and his claims to that effect – potentially undermines her ability to enter into contracts with people who need to believe she’s dealing with them in good faith, attract talent to work in her films (because, lest we forget, Stormy directs movies in addition to performing in them) and secure services from businesses like financial service providers, to mention just a few painfully obvious ways in which she can be damaged.

Sadly, people in the porn industry and other sex workers often do have trouble in conducting normal, everyday business, simply because of their association with sex work – but this says way more about unfair stigmas and stereotypes people harbor about porn performers and sex workers than it does about the inherent credibility of sex workers.

Speaking Of Credibility…

Don’t get me wrong; there’s quite a number of lawyers out there who I consider to be friends of mine. But, when those same lawyers are talking about their clients, or making an argument in court, part of me is always wary of putting too much stock in what they’re saying.

Why the skepticism? Because for lawyers, obfuscating, dodging, spinning and even outright lying are merely part of their job description when they think doing those things is in the best interest of their client.

For instance, when Giuliani said of Melania Trump “she believes her husband” and “knows its untrue” in reference to whether the First Lady thinks her husband had an affair with Stormy Daniels, it suggested he knew this for a fact, or had heard such directly from Melania herself.

Melania’s spokesperson, however, didn’t exactly back up that notion.

“I don’t believe Mrs. Trump has ever discussed her thoughts on anything with Mr. Giuliani,” East Wing communications director Stephanie Grisham told CNN.

If you’re surprised at the notion Giuliani may have implied a greater degree of assurance in Melania’s faith in her husband than was reasonable, given his lack of direct communication with the First Lady on the subject in question, raise your hand – and then slap yourself in the face with it.

Speaking Of Credibility, Part 2: Paying Someone Not To Make A Supposedly False Claim?

In questioning Stormy’s credibility, what Giuliani is really inviting us to do is to weigh her credibility against that of Rudy’s client, Donald Trump. More to the point, it’s inviting us to specifically weigh the credibility of her claim of an affair against Trump’s denials of such.

Look, I wasn’t there, so I can’t speak with authority on whether an affair took place between Stormy and The Donald.

I can, however, ask myself whether a man who describes himself as Trump’s “fixer” would go out of his way to make a $130,000 hush-money payment to someone who claimed to have an affair with his client, if he thought there was no truth to the claim.

After all, if her line of work means she has no credibility, and there’s no reason to give her claim any credence, why not just let her tell her story and then deny it? This is, after all, the approach Trump has taken with quite a few other women; if Stormy was paid simply to keep her from saying something untrue but potentially damaging, why not pay these others, too?

I can also ask myself whether a guy spent decades bragging about his affairs with various beautiful women (sometimes while pretending to be his own publicist) is someone I should later believe when he denies having an affair.

[ed. and if you didn’t already know that Rudy was an angry nutbar, take a look at this segment on his radio show when he was mayor of NYC and banned ferrets as pets!]