The woman who recorded Donald Sterling’s infamous racist rant is milking the scandal for all it’s worth.
V. Stiviano has been parading around Los Angeles in her now-trademark face visor — and even has an entourage decked out in baseball caps bearing her name.
During a bizarre encounter with photographers outside a La Brea Avenue restaurant, Stiviano — whose recording of Sterling got the LA Clippers owner banned for life from the NBA — claimed that she would eventually lead the free world.
“One day, I will become president of the United States of America. And I will change the legislation and laws,” she said, according to video posted online. “Modern-day history. Civil-rights movement.”
Stiviano also agreed with one photographer’s compliment that she’s “bigger than Angelina Jolie,” but suggested she knew her 15 minutes of fame were ticking away.
“Just today, just today, guys,” Stiviano said after being compared to Brad Pitt’s Oscar-winning partner.
Stiviano, 31, who hid her face behind a reflective sun shield throughout the Tuesday night exchange, wore a bright yellow leather jacket over a gray T-shirt and cut-off jean Daisy Dukes.
She was accompanied by a burly bodyguard and several men and women wearing “V. Stiviano” caps.
Earlier in the day, Stiviano was trailed by cameras as she roller-skated around the $1.8 million duplex Sterling bought her near the swank Beverly Center shopping mall.
For that escapade, she wore the shorts, a visor with light-blue trim and a matching T-shirt with an image of 1970s ad mascot “Twinkie the Kid.”
Court papers show Stiviano legally changed her name in 2010 from Maria Vanessa Perez, citing as her reason: “Born from a rape case and haven’t yet been fully accepted because of my race.”
During her notorious conversation with Sterling, Stiviano told him she was “black and Mexican” when he chastised her for publicly “associating with black people” and told her not to bring any black guests to “my games.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday permanently banned Sterling, 80, from the league and fined him $2.5 million for his “deeply offensive and harmful” remarks.
Britain’s Daily Mail reported Stiviano grew up dirt-poor in San Antonio, Texas, where her mother, Martha Perez, was convicted of stealing $113 worth of groceries in 2002. The report also quoted a photographer friend who said that after moving to LA, Stiviano apparently underwent “a lot” of plastic surgery “and looks like a cat as a result.”
“She can still strike an amazing pose, but she loves the attention more than anything,” the shutterbug said.
According to a suit filed by Sterling’s estranged wife, Rochelle “Shelly” Sterling, Stiviano met Donald at the 2010 Super Bowl, leading to an affair during which he showered her with about $2 million in cash and gifts, including a Ferrari, two Bentleys and a Range Rover.
Stiviano’s lawyer has said that she never had a romantic or sexual relationship with Donald, and that while she recorded their incendiary conversation, it was by “mutual agreement” and Stiviano didn’t make it public.
“Someone released it for money,” lawyer Mac Nehoray told the LA Times.
Nehoray added that he and Stiviano “have an idea” who was behind the leaks to TMZ and the Deadspin Web site, but wouldn’t identify that person.