# Melania Trump sues over sex worker claims **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 2, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737 "2016-09-02T00:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/1 "2016-09-02T00:26:16Z")
People call me up and say, it’s a tremendous issue, was she really a prostitute. And I say we have to find out, i’m for it, yep really for it, we have to understand. Look at, you know, people coming in and you see people talking, we have to get down to the problem. You know, was she really a call girl because that would be a tremendous situation. I don’t know, it’s just people are talking. > **[Melania Trump sues Daily Mail and US blogger for $150m over sex worker claims](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37253025)** > > Melania Trump sues the Daily Mail and a US blogger for $150m over allegations she was a sex worker in the 1990s. We have to get down to the problem. It’s tremendous. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/2 "2016-09-02T00:31:47Z")
I’m sure she’s never had sex for money. Corvettes, penthouses, sure, but not money. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/3 "2016-09-02T00:34:09Z")
[Trump set the tone](https://www.ncscooper.com/donald-trump-bombshell-ted-cruzs-wife-former-call-girl/). The problem with throwing that kind of bomb around is that sometimes people throw it back. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/4 "2016-09-02T00:42:26Z")
Personally I do think the sex worker accusations are likely to not have much evidence or support. Unfortunately for Melania becoming a public figure makes it harder to sue the tabloid media for defamation. Having said that, I have to say I would not had known about this issue or would had dismissed it as it was the Daily Fail making the accusation; but, now this is now more known because of this law suit. Melania must not know what the Streisand effect is. > **[Streisand effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect)** > > The Streisand effect is the way in which attempts to hide, remove, or censor information can lead to the unintended consequence of increasing awareness of that information. It is named after American singer and actress Barbra Streisand, whose attempt to suppress the California Coastal Records Project's photograph of her cliff-top residence in Malibu, California, taken to document California coastal erosion, inadvertently drew greater attention to the photograph in 2003. > Attempts to suppress in... ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/5 "2016-09-02T00:49:04Z")
I am really sorry for her. Obama has recounted how he asked MO if she was all in before throwing his hat in the ring. He needed her full support. I don’t see the Don doing that. Melania seems like a very shy person, and very reluctant to be in this position. I suspect that she never signed up for the savagery that is a campaign. Even when the press has treated her with kids’ gloves compared to what the FLOTUS has been put through. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/6 "2016-09-02T01:05:19Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > [Trump set the tone](https://www.ncscooper.com/donald-trump-bombshell-ted-cruzs-wife-former-call-girl/). The problem with throwing that kind of bomb around is that sometimes people throw it back. You know, that’s a fake story. > **[Donald Trump Bombshell: Ted Cruz's Wife Former Call Girl](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/heidi-cruz-call-girl/)** > > A fake news article reported that Donald Trump had 'spilled the beans' and outed Heidi Cruz as a former call girl. There is a story on that site that outs Bill Clinton as the father of Bristol Palin’s baby and other story about Jim Morrison being found alive in an assisted living facility. But Heidi Cruz is such a god-fearing straight arrow uber-overachiever that I wouldn’t have believed it for a second, even if Trump did say it. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/7 "2016-09-02T01:18:15Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > You know, that’s a fake story. > [Donald Trump Bombshell: Ted Cruz's Wife Former Call Girl | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/heidi-cruz-call-girl/) > > There is a story on that site that outs Bill Clinton as the father of Bristol Palin’s baby and other story about Jim Morrison being found alive in an assisted living facility. > > **But Heidi Cruz is such a god-fearing straight arrow uber-overachiever that I wouldn’t have believed it for a second, even if Trump did say it.** That didn’t stop various televangelists, politicians and Josh Dugger, did it? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/8 "2016-09-02T03:05:40Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > I am really sorry for her. > > Obama has recounted how he asked MO if she was all in before throwing his hat in the ring. He needed her full support. I don’t see the Don doing that. > > Melania seems like a very shy person, and very reluctant to be in this position. I suspect that she never signed up for the savagery that is a campaign. Even when the press has treated her with kids’ gloves compared to what the FLOTUS has been put through. Whatever. She chose Donald Trump, that decision has consequences. It’s not like he’s ever been shy about stating his opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/9 "2016-09-02T03:25:06Z")
Interesting that Trump decided this is where he would make a stand. “Mr Trump, they’re saying your father was connected with the Nazis. Should we sue?” “Yeah, better not open that can of worms. Let it go.” “They’re saying you have KKK connections.” “Let it go.” “Taking money from Putin?” “Let it go.” “Sex with underage prostitutes?” “Let it go.” “Gay rape hazing incident?” “Let it go.” “Incest with your daughter?” “Let it go.” “Your wife’s an illegal immigrant?” “Let it go.” “She made porno movies?” “Let it go.” “She was a call girl in New York City?” “Let it…wait…did they specifically say New York City?” “Yes.” “They didn’t say she was a call girl in London or Los Angeles or Miami or Macao?” “No…it was just New York.” “Hey, we can win that one. Go ahead and file a lawsuit.” ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/10 "2016-09-02T05:33:41Z")
The Daily Mail retracted the story: [http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/01/media/melania-trump-daily-mail-libel-suit/index.html](http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/01/media/melania-trump-daily-mail-libel-suit/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/11 "2016-09-02T07:41:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Interesting that Trump decided this is where he would make a stand. …Donald didn’t file the suit. Melania did. (According to the article cited in the OP.) Lets not take away her agency. The Daily Mail have retracted the story. They obviously can’t back it up. I’m not a Trump fan or a Melania fan. But newspapers should not publish bullshit stories: and this is a bullshit story. The Daily Mail have more than earned this lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/12 "2016-09-02T09:00:14Z")
The problem with this is when people start beating up on sex workers (not literally.) They are the vulnerable ones and are the ones who need to be protected, not the people who use them. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/13 "2016-09-02T10:13:35Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …Donald didn’t file the suit. Melania did. (According to the article cited in the OP.) Lets not take away her agency. The Daily Mail have retracted the story. They obviously can’t back it up. I’m not a Trump fan or a Melania fan. But newspapers should not publish bullshit stories: and this is a bullshit story. The Daily Mail have more than earned this lawsuit. Word. If they’d called her a home wrecker and let it go at that, they might have gotten away with it. Not that sucn a soubriquet would have been fair; just not actionable in the same way “sex worker” would. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/14 "2016-09-02T11:48:44Z")
What the Daily Mail posted was true. The story said a Slovenian publication ran the story. They even wrote that they could find no corroboration. Kind of like when Trump says “People are saying…” They were just truthfully stating what someone else published. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/15 "2016-09-02T12:19:14Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > I am really sorry for her. > > Melania seems like a very shy person, and very reluctant to be in this position. Yes, the poor wall flower… [NSFW](http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/donald-trump-melania-trump-knauss-first-lady-erections). ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/16 "2016-09-02T12:43:01Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Yes, the poor wall flower… [NSFW](http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/donald-trump-melania-trump-knauss-first-lady-erections). Look, saying that I am not a fan of Trump is an industrial-size understatement. I am not the only one to notice that as the spouse of a candidate she’s showing the kind of enthusiasm we usually see in bank robbery hostages. What’s sauce for the gander is sauce for the other gander. Michelle O. has been demonized for no reason. I will take no part in demonizing another woman for activities that don’t offend my morals. Being photographed butt nekkid is fine with me. Even if she were a street walker, I would still not demonize her. Her body is hers to do what she wants. I will continue butchering Trump though, if you don’t mind. ---
**Author:** ![TheStake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@TheStake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheStake)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/17 "2016-09-02T12:59:37Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Look, saying that I am not a fan of Trump is an industrial-size understatement. I am not the only one to notice that as the spouse of a candidate she’s showing the kind of enthusiasm we usually see in bank robbery hostages. > > What’s sauce for the gander is sauce for the other gander. Michelle O. has been demonized for no reason. I will take no part in demonizing another woman for activities that don’t offend my morals. Being photographed butt nekkid is fine with me. Even if she were a street walker, I would still not demonize her. Her body is hers to do what she wants. > > I will continue butchering Trump though, if you don’t mind. I 100% agree with you there. Focus on the important parts ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/18 "2016-09-02T13:18:27Z")
I’m not morally offended by her either, but she’s no Michelle Obama. Not sure why you’d even mention the two in one breath. And let’s not pretend like she didn’t know what she was getting herself into by hitching her wagon to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/19 "2016-09-02T14:56:53Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > [Trump set the tone](https://www.ncscooper.com/donald-trump-bombshell-ted-cruzs-wife-former-call-girl/). The problem with throwing that kind of bomb around is that sometimes people throw it back. And worse, they’re smart enough to pull the pin first. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737/20 "2016-09-02T15:13:32Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > What the Daily Mail posted was true. The story said a Slovenian publication ran the story. They even wrote that they could find no corroboration. Kind of like when Trump says “People are saying…” They were just truthfully stating what someone else published. That doesn’t get you out of liability for defamation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melania-trump-sues-over-sex-worker-claims/764737.md?page=2)