Poor Toad: How Stormy Daniels ruined Mario Kart

  • Published
Stormy Daniels and Toad from Super MarioImage source, Getty Images/Nintendo
Image caption,

Stormy Daniels used Toad from the Mario series to describe something about President Trump

He's the lovable mushroom-headed character from the Super Mario games.

But thanks to excerpts from porn star Stormy Daniels' tell-all book, Toad has become associated with US President Donald Trump.

In it, she compares Trump's penis to the "mushroom character in Mario Kart".

It was a detail which sent people online reeling, with many suggesting Toad deserved much better, and it wasn't long before the inevitable memes and jokes started.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by Jamie McKelvie

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by Jamie McKelvie
This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by Sharpie

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by Sharpie
Presentational white space

The Guardian has got a copy, external of the yet-to-be-published memoir Full Disclosure.

It apparently goes into salacious details about her alleged affair with President Trump.

Stormy Daniels was paid $130,000 (about £90,000) through Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, shortly before the 2016 election.

Reactions online ranged from amusement to horror, as both Toad and Mario Kart began trending.

Nintendo Life, a website which covers all things Nintendo, got in on the joke.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by Nintendo Life

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by Nintendo Life
Presentational white space

Before bringing back one of the president's most infamous tweets.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 4 by Nintendo Life

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 4 by Nintendo Life
Presentational white space

Nintendo did not comment, though one of their tweets from 2015 became popular once more.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 5 by Nintendo of America

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 5 by Nintendo of America
Presentational white space
This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 6 by darth™

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 6 by darth™
Presentational white space

Writing for Slate, external, self-described Toad fan Nitisha Pahwa said: "I am simply mourning that Toad, in my view the best Mario Kart character - both as a personified mushroom and as a racer - will now forever be associated with an 'unusual' penis."

Meanwhile, NY Mag's Brian Feldman argued this was the latest example of the "modern joys" of being a Mario fan., external

"A relatively bland franchise has been pushed to incredible new heights by an internet hive mind relentlessly devoted to corrupting every part of this franchise," he wrote.

"In fact, that's really the main appeal of Mario at this point."

President Trump has not commented on the latest revelations from Stormy Daniel's book.

Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, external, Facebook, external and Twitter, external.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.