Larry Flynt visits his Fresno store: 'They thought I was opening a brothel'

Larry Flynt arrived at his Fresno store in his purple-and-gold wheelchair ready to meet fans and dish on a variety of topics.

The Hustler magazine creator and self-proclaimed American icon talked about President Donald Trump, free speech and how well the Hustler Hollywood Fresno store on Shaw Avenue is doing.

He signed autographs and met about 40 fans Saturday evening.

Flynt, 75, said he owed fans a visit after he was a no-show for the store's grand opening in September 2017.

"I had the flu really bad so I couldn’t come up," he said about his last-minute cancellation.

He said the city was quick to judge when he wanted to open a store in Fresno. "I think they thought I was opening a brothel instead of a store. Once they calmed down, (they) realized it was a very nice retail store, and it had something to offer to the community."

He said the store is doing well. "The demographics are very good for us up here."

Flynt spoke about First Amendment rights. "When we lose our freedoms, we don’t lose them all at once," he said. "We lose them a magazine or a movie at a time. A few decades ago it was leather jackets and tattoos."

An outspoken critic of President Trump, Flynt said he knows the president has many supporters, "but what happened to their souls? What kind of price do you put on that?"

And on Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who allegedly had an affair with Trump and is now embroiled in a legal dispute with the president: "I’m not an apologist for Donald Trump, because I hope they bring him down, but in my career I’ve seen many girls like Stormy and it’s all about fame, celebrity and money. In that order. He’s guilty and she’s guilty of capitalizing on him."

Some fans had been waiting nearly nine months to meet Flynt.

Terry Rodriguez said he was one of the customers who left disappointed at the grand opening. After meeting him on Saturday, Rodriguez said he was happy Flynt kept his promise to meet fans.

Describing the meeting as "cool and quick," Rodriguez walked out of the store with an autographed photo and a DVD of "The People vs. Larry Flynt."

Rodriguez said he became a fan after watching the movie. "That's when I realized he went to court to fight for our rights."

Flynt was left paralyzed from the waist down by a 1978 shooting in Georgia, shot while he was returning to the courtroom where he was a defendant in a porn-related case.

Flynt said he came to Fresno to see the store's location before it was built, but had not been since. During the event, he was wheeled around the store for a tour. "It’s one of our better stores," he said. "I like it a lot."

This story was originally published June 9, 2018 at 9:01 PM with the headline "Larry Flynt visits his Fresno store: 'They thought I was opening a brothel'."