Sex Workers Worry Bella Thorne’s $2 Million Payday Could Ruin OnlyFans - Rolling Stone

A subscription platform where creators sell content directly to fans that has, since its inception in 2016, primarily been used by sex workers, OnlyFans has seen a tremendous jump in membership since March, with a 75% increase month-to-month in new signups.

A plug from Beyonce in her “Savage” remix, compounded with mainstream celebrities like Cardi B and Blac Chyna joining the platform, has only added to its popularity, to the degree that starting an OnlyFans account to make easy money has become something of a meme.

Now, the platform is set to become even more popular after announcing that actor and singer Bella Thorne had become the first creator to make $1 million in a single day.

By selling exclusive content at $20 per month, Thorne has made $2 million on the platform in less than a week.

The accolades for Thorne’s financial windfall were particularly offensive to some sex workers in light of the fact that BIPOC celebrities such as rapper Rubi Rose shamed for joining the platform.

“But Bella Thorne does it for ‘research’ and she’s a god damn entrepreneur.” Sex workers are concerned that coverage of Thorne and other celebrities who make a great deal of money on OnlyFans will deceive people into believing that building a brand on OnlyFans is easy, when it is more often than not an arduous and thankless process.

Ultimately, however, the greatest issue that sex workers have with celebrities joining the platform is that they benefit from the financial spoils of their platforms, without having to deal with the societal backlash and shaming associated with the profession

“They can just profit off of platforms we have built, without enduring any of the backlash that we have to endure.” And unlike celebrities like FK Twigs, who recently launched a GoFundMe to donate to sex worker mutual aid funds, Thorne has not vowed to specifically use the money raised from her OnlyFans to support sex workers, instead saying she plans to invest it into her production company and to charity

“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,” says Aussie Rachel, a sex worker and OnlyFans content creator

She’s also hopeful that Thorne making bank on OnlyFans will help erode the stigma associated with making money off NSFW content online, which could trickle down to sex workers and make it easier for them to be paid by, for instance, credit card processors, which are notoriously sex work-unfriendly

“[Maybe people will think], ‘Well, I’ll pay $20 to see Bella in a bikini, maybe I’ll pay $6 for this picture of titties on a beach.’ I’m all about anyone making money off of their content, celeb or sex worker or otherwise

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