Thelife- Per screenshots circulating on Twitter, actress
Bella Thorne appears to have claimed on her Instagram story that she "took the hit" for joiningOnlyFans "first." - Thorne joined the paid subscription platform, which has been a lifeline for sex workers during the pandemic, in August after other celebrities including Cardi B.
- Her presence on the platform has long drawn criticism from sex workers, particularly after OnlyFans changed its policies to limit tips and the amount creators can charge for pay per view content after she made $1 million in her first day on the platform.
- OnlyFans previously denied that the policy changes were tied to Thorne, but her presence on OnlyFans — and her apparent claim that she "took the heat" for joining — have incited backlash.
Bella Thorne is once again facing backlash tied to her OnlyFans presence after the former Disney Channel actress claimed on her Instagram story that she "took the hit" for joining the platform "first."
Thorne announced that she was joining OnlyFans, a paid subscription platform popular among erotic content creators, in August. As Insider's Canela López reported, many have turned to the platform to earn money during the pandemic. Thorne was far from the first celebrity on OnlyFans: model Blac Chyna, influencer Tana Mongeau, and rapper Cardi B were all among those to join the platform before she did.
In her story, which was reported on in PageSix and documented in screenshots, Thorne appeared to say, "Everyone joining ONLY fans but I took the hit for doing it firsttttt coooool." She continued, "Legit everyone In my
One tweet containing the posts that appear to be from Thorne's story with the caption "bella thorne is one of the top 10 villains of 2020" has amassed over 172,000 likes.
—jasmine rice (@jasminericegirl) December 14, 2020
Thorne's OnlyFans presence has drawn criticism essentially since its launch
This is far from the first time Thorne has faced backlash for her presence on the platform. She earned $2 million in her first week on the platform (and $1 million of that in a single day). However, the biggest controversy began with a $200 pay per view (PPV) post following social media reports that she falsely advertised it as a nude, despite the fact that she had previously tweeted that she wouldn't be "doing nudity." One viral tweet alleged that the photo incited a significant number of people to request refunds.
On August 28, OnlyFans announced that it was changing its policies, limiting tips on content (there had previously been no limit) and limiting the price of exclusive content to $50. Sex workers, for whom the platform has been a lifeline during the pandemic, questioned whether or not the new limits were a result of Thorne's post. In a statement given to Insider at the time, OnlyFans denied that the policy change had anything to do with Thorne.
Some sex workers have accused Thorne of 'gentrifying' OnlyFans
As Insider's Canela López reported, one sex worker and OnlyFans creator said that they saw profits dip as OnlyFans became more mainstream and celebrities like Thorne joined the platform. Some called for Thorne to redistribute the record income she earned during her first week on OnlyFans to sex workers.
Thorne apologized to sex workers who accused her of "gentrifying" the platform, tweeting that she had wanted to help "remove the stigma" behind
"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," she tweeted, calling the new restrictions "f-cked up" and saying that she was meeting with OnlyFans to speak about them.
That's part of why Thorne's assertion that she "took the heat" for being the "first" to join OnlyFans incited such a response on Twitter, with many repeating allegations regarding her PPV content and the August OnlyFans policy changes.
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Representatives for Thorne did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
- Read more:
- Bella Thorne apologizes to OnlyFans creators after she banks $2 million in a week from erotic site
- Long-time OnlyFans creators hit back at Bella Thorne for 'gentrifying' the erotic content site, and call on her to redistribute the $1 million she earned in a day
- Bella Thorne has launched an account on OnlyFans, the subscription platform that's become massively popular during the pandemic
- OnlyFans is limiting how much people can tip creators after Bella Thorne earned $1 million on the site in a day