Amber Rose has some thoughts on Donald Trump's 'sex tape' tweet

Amber Rose was on her way to buy lingerie Friday when she heard about Donald Trump's "sex tape" tweet. Behind the wheel of her pink Jeep, the talk show host gasped. "It doesn't matter if she had a sex tape," Rose said, cruising down Hollywood's Melrose Avenue. "That doesn't mean she isn't capable of being great. And it has nothing to do with her opinion of someone running for president."

Rose, a prominent sex-positive activist, was referring to Trump's Internet takedown of a former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado. The Venezuela native, who became an American citizen this year, has criticized the Republican presidential candidate in the media and starred in a Hillary Clinton campaign video. He shot back with allegations about her sexual history.

"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?" Trump wrote. (There is no evidence of a sex tape.)

Rose, 32, first stepped into the national spotlight eight years ago as rapper Kanye West's girlfriend. The ultra-public relationship ended in 2010, and Rose, a former stripper, became the target of some particularly nasty insults. "It's very hard for a woman to want to be with someone that was with Amber Rose," West said last year on a radio show. "I had to take 30 showers."

The remark implied that an exotic dancer is unclean, Rose said. Why shame her for performing and applaud him for rapping about explicit escapades?

Rose has built her brand around ending this double standard - and the judgment of people who embrace sex, in general. It's lucrative. The "Amber Rose Show" debuted in July on VH1. (Dr. Phil, whose company produces the show, is reportedly a fan of her activism .) She just landed an $8 million speaking tour to address this topic and, yes, her sex life. This weekend in Los Angeles, she's hosting her second annual SlutWalk, Rose's spin on the global feminist protests.

Trump's remarks, she said, are an example of "slut shaming."

Clinton mentioned Machado in Monday's presidential debate, urging viewers to consider Trump's treatment of women. "He called this woman 'Miss Piggy,' " she said. "Then he called her 'Miss Housekeeping,' because she was Latina. Donald, she has a name."

The GOP contender doesn't deny insulting Machado and pressuring her to exercise in 1996 after she won the Miss Universe crown and then gained weight. He told his 11.1 million Twitter followers that Machado is no "paragon of virtue."

We called Rose, a Clinton supporter, to chat about the sudden collision of "sex tape" and the presidential election. (This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.)

How do you feel about a presidential candidate blasting a critic's sex life?

It really makes me so mad. It doesn't matter if she had a sex tape or sleeps with a million guys. Everyone has sex. A lot of people don't talk about it because it makes them uncomfortable.

That's why I speak about it candidly on purpose. I use raunchy words to shock people, like, "Your grandparents were getting it poppin' back in the day, as well."

Some Trump supporters said highlighting an alleged tape is a way to show Machado has poor judgment ...

Making a video doesn't make you a less credible person. It's so easy to record a video these days. Your phone is right there in the palm of your hands. I wouldn't judge Donald for making one with Melania.

In June, President Obama addressed the double standard you often talk about, saying, "We need to change the attitude that punishes women for their sexuality but gives men a pat on the back for theirs." How does this attitude affect people?

I've heard from girls who drop out of high school and college just for being slut shamed. It affects their whole life. It's an extreme form of bullying. It makes you feel nasty and dirty for doing things that come naturally to human beings.

Now, it affects me in a positive way because it fuels my fire. I understand it's not like that for everyone else.

What's your earliest memory of being judged this way?

I was in the eighth grade. A boy took his hand and went up my skirt. I went to the principal. She blew up, like: "You should have never had that skirt on. What did you expect him to do?"

In all honestly, I felt like I needed to apologize to him after I got ridiculed and beaten down by everyone. I went to him and said, "Yo, I'm sorry." Looking back, that's so sad and unfortunate.

How do you think we should be talking about sexuality, particularly women's sexuality?

I encourage women to own it, to embrace it. That's why I refer to myself as a slut. I speak on it very openly. It does help take the pain away. I'm stopping at Agent Provocateur today to find something extremely slutty to wear at the SlutWalk tomorrow.