Successful actress and former Disney Channel star Bella Thorne explained Saturday that she turned to solicitation subscription website OnlyFans to sell access to provocative photos and videos of herself in an effort to normalize and de-stigmatize “sex work,” or prostitution.
As noted by The Daily Wire, the 22-year-old actress, who was worth millions of dollars before signing up for the site, joined OnlyFans this week and made record cash, raking in $1 million in one day, and a total of $2 million in under a week.
Thorne’s explanation was promoted by backlash she’s received from non-celebrities selling themselves on the site, accusing her of triggering new restrictions by OnlyFans admins after she pulled in millions of dollars in a matter of days.
“[Part 1] Remove the stigma behind sex, sex work, and the negativity that surrounds the word SEX itself by bringing a mainstream face to it that’s what I was trying to do, to help bring more faces to the site to create more revenue for content creators on the site,” she said in a tweet.
In follow-up tweets, Thorne wrote: “I wanted to bring attention to the site, the more people on the site the more likely of a chance to normalize the stigmas, [and] in trying to do this I hurt you. I have risked my career a few times to remove the stigma behind sex work, porn, and the natural hatred people spew […] behind anything sex related. I wrote and directed a porn against the high brows of my peers and managers because I WANTED to help with the stigma behind sex. […] I am a mainstream face and when you have a voice, a platform, you try to use you in helping others and advocate for something bigger than yourself. Again in this process I hurt you and for that I’m truly sorry.”
In another tweet, Thorne said she would reach out to OnlyFans to “find out why” they added restrictions, and told others selling themselves on the site to drop their links so she can “promote you guys.”
“Ps. I’m meeting with only fans about the new restrictions to find out why!!!” she wrote. “This is f***ed up and I’m sorry comment any ideas or concerns you want brought up to OF!! and send me your links and a pic so I can promote you guys.”
PT1 Remove the stigma behind sex, sex work, and the negativity that surrounds the word SEX itself by bringing a mainstream face to it that’s what I was trying to do, to help bring more faces to the site to create more revenue for content creators on the site.
— BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) August 29, 2020
I wanted to bring attention to the site, the more people on the site the more likely of a chance to normalize the stigmas, And in trying to do this I hurt you. I have risked my career a few times to remove the stigma behind sex work, porn, and the natural hatred people spew…
— BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) August 29, 2020
behind anything sex related. I wrote and directed a porn against the high brows of my peers and managers because I WANTED to help with the stigma behind sex.
— BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) August 29, 2020
…I am a mainstream face and when you have a voice, a platform, you try to use you in helping others and advocate for something bigger than yourself. Again in this process I hurt you and for that I’m truly sorry.
— BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) August 29, 2020
Ps. I’m meeting with only fans about the new restrictions to find out why!!! This is fucked up and I’m sorry comment any ideas or concerns you want brought up to OF!! and send me your links and a pic so I can promote you guys
— BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) August 29, 2020
Sex trafficking survivor and advocate Eliza Bleu told Thorne in a reply to one of her tweets that her attempt at apparently “de-stigmatizing” “sex work” has “increased folks risk of being trafficked.”
“As a survivor advocate for those effected by human trafficking,” wrote Bleu, “you single handily increased folks risk of being trafficked. Our most vulnerable have been at risk all year. This made it worse.”
As a survivor advocate for those effected by human trafficking, you single handily increased folks risk of being trafficked. Our most vulnerable have been at risk all year. This made it worse.
— Eliza (@elizableu) August 30, 2020
Thorne had earlier suggested through her Twitter feed that she’s working on an OnlyFans-related movie with filmmaker Sean Baker. However, Baker has denied any such collaboration.
Variety reported:
In a statement Friday, Baker, whose credits include “The Florida Project” and “Tangerine,” disavowed any connection to a Thorne-OnlyFans project. His announcement comes after a backlash among sex workers who rely on income from OnlyFans about Thorne’s arrival on the subscription-based platform, which they believe has siphoned money away from their accounts. The social network has a reputation for hosting pornographic content, while Thorne has said she will not post nude content on OnlyFans.
Related: Successful Actress Bella Thorne, 22, Made Millions Posting Provocative Videos Of Herself On OnlyFans