Angel Dark: Adult Film Star Who Donald Trump Mistook For Alicia Machado Has A Life Story That Will Sound Very Familiar To Trump

Angel Dark might be the most popular adult film star in the world right now, and she has Donald Trump’s Twitter fingers to thank for it.

The Slovakian immigrant moved to Los Angeles about five years ago and had been appearing in a number of scenes, including at least one where she was misidentified as Alicia Machado, the winner of the Miss Universe pageant in 1996. Machado has come to the forefront after the first presidential debate, when Hillary Clinton referenced Trump’s alleged misogyny toward to pageant winner.

“And one of the worst things he said was about a woman in a beauty contest — he loves beauty contests, supporting them and hanging around them — and he called this woman ‘Miss Piggy,’ then he called her ‘Miss Housekeeping’ because she was Latina,” Clinton said (via CNN). “Donald, she has a name. Her name is Alicia Machado. And she has become a U.S. citizen and you can bet she is going to vote this November.”

The reference appeared to be a well-laid trap for Donald Trump, as Clinton’s team already pre-packaged commercials and interviews with Machado ready to hit the news the following day and had also arranged for Machado to begin making appearances in support of Clinton.

Trump fell right into it, digging deeper in his criticism of Machado and then on Friday morning directing his Twitter followers to check out a “sex tape” that allegedly showed Machado.

Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016

Trump Attacks EX-Miss Universe in Overnight Tweetstorm. #AliciaMachadohttps://t.co/Yhb3cOlg6i

— Shomari Stone (@shomaristone) September 30, 2016

The problem is that this sex tape actually showed Angel Dark, the adult film star who appeared in more than 230 films over the course of her career and bears a rough resemblance to Alicia Machado.

Although Donald Trump got plenty of criticism for his mistake and the continued shaming of Alicia Machado, Angel Dark also got a big boost in popularity. What many found is that the 34-year-old adult film star has a story very similar to someone very close to Donald Trump — his own wife, Melania.

Both Melania and Angel Dark grew up in the 1980s in Eastern European countries that at the time were part of the Soviet Union. Melania grew up in Slovenia, while Angel Dark was born in Slovakia. Both came from a simple upbringing, and both made their entrance into the worlds of fashion and adult entertainment after being discovered on the street.

As People recounted back in February, a photographer saw Melania Trump and told her she should be a model. Melania ultimately chose that path, traveling across Europe as a model.

“I still remember how tall she was and how beautiful her figure and hair were,” Stane Jerko, the photographer who discovered Trump, told the Associated Press (via People). “There was no smile on her face because she was shy and scared, but I encouraged her to come to the studio.”

Angel Dark was also discovered on the street, but her first encounter went very, very differently. In a 2010 interview with AVN, she described how what was supposed to be a lingerie modeling shoot actually turned out to be an adult film shoot.

“No, I was so angry. Oh Jesus you can’t imagine how angry,” Angel Dark said about the deception, adding, “I don’t like it if somebody lies to me. I was like, magazine in my hand and I turn my head and I’m screaming at her, ‘What is this, why didn’t you tell me? I don’t want to do this. Why I’m here. If I knew this I would be not here.’ I said no way, I’m going to leave.”

But she ultimately decided to stay, and from there she launched an adult film career that would stretch more than a decade. Although she won a number of adult movie awards, her biggest moment may have come thanks to Donald Trump’s misidentification.

While the similarities between Angel Dark and Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, may be superficial, they underscore the continued damage Trump has likely done to his campaign with his misguided attack on Alicia Machado.

[Featured Image by Angel Dark/Instagram]