How an ex Disney Star Has Angered Sex Workers
Bella Thorne’s move to Only Fans has led to big changes for the platform
Hollywood is full of ex Disney stars who, once they leave “The House Of Mouse", dramatically alter their public image. Think Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears. There are several who have had drug problems or been embroiled in scandals.
None have incurred the wrath of sex workers. None, that is, until Bella Thorne decided to join OnlyFans.
OnlyFans — the Cliff Notes, for those who “claim” not to know
OnlyFans was launched in 2016 by Tim Stokley. He wanted to find a way for influencers to monetize their content in a way that Instagram or Twitter didn't offer. Members would pay a monthly subscription to be able to view content and engage with the influencer. The model would allow the content creators to take 80% of the membership fees of their fans.
The idea was for musicians, personal trainers, chefs, and creators to post exclusive content. However, due to the site’s relaxed policy around nudity (there was no policy, and absolutely anything was allowed), it soon attracted the interest of sex workers.
There they could post anything from naked photos to videos of themselves masturbating or having sex. They could even produce videos on demand for fans who wanted to pay.
On Instagram, influencers are paid to promote a product. On OnlyFans, it is the influencers who are the product.
A great model for sex workers — initially.
The Only Fans model was a lucrative opportunity offering sex workers autonomy over their bodies, their content, and their prices.
In 2018 the FOSTA-SESTA bill became law. The purpose was to police online prostitution rings, but it impacted consensual sex work. As soon as Trump signed the bill into law, websites like Reddit, which was a haven for workers due to somewhat lax content policies, banned the parts of the platform that could be policed under FOSTA-SESTA.
Tumblr followed by banning nudity, and Craigslist scrapped its personal section. OnlyFans became the best online option.
Subscribers would pay a fee, usually between $5 to $20 a month, to view a feed of explicit imagery. The membership fee would allow them to direct message and tip to get pictures or videos created on-demand, according to their wildest sexual desires.
OnlyFans was also validating sex workers by acknowledging that sex work is real work and many took to the platform.
What else is there to do in lockdown?
Sex workers and influencers could make lots of money. Australian Jem Wolfie has the most subscribers on OnlyFans and at one stage was earning an amazing $30,000 per day. She came to the platform with a big following already having over 2 million followers on Instagram which led to her success. (Interestingly on December 22, Instagram deleted her account for posting racy photos.)
The platform continued to grow as COVID-19 forced many into lockdown. The total amount of user and creator accounts, more than doubled in 2020. In March, OnlyFans had 26 million registered users and 350,000 content creators. Now, the site has over 63 million total registered users and 850,000 content creators. Once, we were forced into our rooms with nothing to do. Scrap that, nothing to do aside from OnlyFans.
It seemed that everyone was either making or watching porn in lockdown. And bored individuals were making interesting requests.
Content creator, Alison Parker said one of her fans sent her this message. “May I purchase a Tupperware of one of your large bowel movements? I can tell you how to legally package it.” Despite rejecting the request (I would have suggested the title One Girl, One Tupperware Container) she made over $1million in the last year.
There was lots of money to be made. Until…
The Disney villain enters the fray
In August 2020, Bella Thorne released a racy video (by Instagram’s standards) announcing she was joining OnlyFans. In her first 24 hours, she earned $1 million. In the first week, she had made $2 million.
This staggering amount was made as she promised a set of nude photos for $200 to her fans. These fans were disappointed when the photos contained exactly zero naked photos of the Disney star. The platform was inundated with complaints and was forced to issue refunds.
Days later, OnlyFans decided to make changes to its creator program. The maximum creators were allowed to charge for pay per view content was $40, and tips were capped at $100. The payments to creators from the sites also changed from seven to thirty days.
“Transaction limits are set to help prevent overspending and to allow our users to continue to use the site safely,” they said in a statement.
The sex workers on the platform were outraged. This was their full-time source of income and now it was being severely restricted. “To witness a celebrity gentrifying a platform and making obscene amounts of money without acknowledging the plight of sex workers is truly a slap in the face,” said one in an interview with Vulture.
Social media was full of complaints from other sex workers.
Some complained that Thorne (who was already worth $12 million) moved to the top of the platform and took fans away from sex workers who had worked hard to build a base. They also believed the move degraded sex workers whose work isn't treated as a serious full-time occupation. Thorne had amassed a fortune in such a short period of time, the fear was the public would perceive that joining OnlyFans was just a get rich quick scheme, rather than being a full-time means of support.
Where to next?
OnlyFans rose to popularity on the back (and front, and side) of sex workers and is now being taken over by celebrities. Cardi B, Blac Chyna, Aaron Carter, and more now dominate the website. While Cardi and Blac Chyna don’t offer sexual content, Carter sells nude photos for $100.
There is an alternative — AdmireMe. Started by former sex worker, Chelsea Ferguson, this platform only allows sex workers as creators. However, it does charge higher fees and has far fewer subscribers. As such most creators are sticking with OnlyFans where they are forced to compete with celebrities.
It will be interesting to see if OnlyFans moves back towards the vision that Stokley first had — that of a range of creators producing content and less of a pornographic platform. If so, Mr Tupperware may need to find a new place to find his feces.
And if you reading this are an OnlyFans subscriber, I guess you could choose to support the sex worker using this as a full-time job rather than the celebrity seeing it as a side hustle.
“Because our job is viewed as easy, people assume we aren’t entitled to an opinion. It’s upsetting to know that someone like Bella Thorne can make millions almost instantly, without the dangers we face, and without really putting in the work, or understanding what we go through.” Odelia, OnlyFans creator and sex worker.
Footnote:
While “researching” this article my 14-year-old son peered behind me to look at my screen. “Dad, why are you on OnlyFans?” he asks. “How do you even know what OnlyFan is?” I reply. We both smile and go back to our days.