The Marla Maples Sex Allegation Spread (1990s)
In the early '90s, Hustler published a spread implying Donald Trump's then-girlfriend (and later wife) Marla Maples had slept with a bodyguard—and offered salacious, unverified details. The issue made headlines not just for the gossip, but because it targeted a high-profile figure years before Trump entered politics. Though legal action was threatened, Flynt welcomed the conflict, calling it "another opportunity to expose hypocrisy in high places." The incident foreshadowed his later political stunts during Trump's presidency and cemented Hustler's role as a gossip grenade launcher willing to go where tabloids feared to tread.
The publication came out in late August 1990, featuring an unflattering cover photo of Maples next to a headline that read "Marla's Bodyguards Talk Dirty." Inside were photos of six nude men identified as former members of Trump's security detail who claimed they had been asked to give interviews about their alleged encounters with Maples. One man said he had sex with her while guarding Trump at a party; another said she invited him to her dressing room after a show; yet another said she sent him into her bedroom while she got ready to perform. They described her as a "sexual predator," saying she would initiate contact with them by kissing and touching, according to reports.
Flynt responded by claiming the men in the article were actors hired to support a story he invented himself; he also filed defamation charges against Trump's lawyer, who threatened to sue over the spread. A judge eventually ruled that Flynt could not be held liable for libel because what was published wasn't technically false—it just happened to be untrue. Still, the controversy brought more attention to both sides than either could have expected: Maples went on to marry Trump in December of that year, and Hustler continued publishing scandal-mongering material long afterward.
In retrospect, many see this incident as a preview of things to come from Flynt. During Trump's presidency, Flynt teamed up with adult star Stephanie Clifford (a.k.a. Stormy Daniels) to publish an interview revealing details of her alleged affair with Trump. He also offered a $1 million reward to anyone who could provide evidence of sexual misconduct by Trump during his time in office, leading to accusations from conservative politicians that he was trying to interfere with the government. But Flynt insisted he was simply doing what he had always done: exposing hypocrisy in high places.