Bella Thorne apologises for her alleged role in OnlyFans price scandal
OnlyFans creators, who use the site to sell exclusive content to fans, are unhappy that prices have been capped, prompting actress Bella Thorne to apologise for her alleged involvement in the move. She was called out for selling 'nude' photographs, that weren't acutally nude, prompting numerous complaints and requests for refunds (which is why some now believe she was the reason for the price cap).
A spokesperson for OnlyFans, however, denied that their decision to implement a $100 limit on how much users can be tipped is in response to any one person. The site, which is often thought of as being used solely by adult entertainers, is also popular with musicians, cosplayers, dancers and comedians, who don't offer sexually-themed photos or clips. It's thought the platform boasts 60 million users and 750,000 content creators from around the world, all of whom will have their incomes majorly affected by the cap.
In a series of tweets posted after the financial restriction was announced, Bella, who joined the site on 19 August, said she was trying to help sex workers by bringing a mainstream face to the industry. "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. I wanted to bring attention to the site, the more people on the site the more likely of a chance to normalize the stigmas."
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
She continued, "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."
Bella added that she was meeting with the Only Fans team to ask why they changed the tipping allowance. "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!!"
When speaking to the BBC, an OnlyFans spokesperson said the idea to reduce tipping amounts had been "in the pipeline" for a while, prior to Bella joining. They said: "Spending limits are in place to protect all OnlyFans users and to allow them to use the platform safely. The newly introduced limits on tips and paid posts is a change that has been in the pipeline for a while, and has not been implemented in response to any one creator or fan." They added that a record number of content creators joined the site after Bella announcement her involvement.
Bella also retweeted a journalist who said she'd joined the site initially to research an upcoming film project with director Sean Baker, who in response posted a statement saying that while had spoken with Bella about a possible movie in the "far future", that nothing was concrete. "I advised her team to consult with sex workers and address the way she went about this so as NOT to hurt the sex work industry. That [is] the extent of my involvement."
If you don’t understand why every sex worker hates Bella Thorne’s stinky guts and how she endangered the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of creators, let me explain it for you! First, Bella Thorne made an OF & made $1m in her first day. This isn’t the bad part.
— Erika Heidewald 👍 if u think QAnon’s real ur dumb (@erikaheidewald) August 28, 2020
One popular OnlyFans content creator, Erika Heidewald, said of the situation, "Bella Thorne made an OnlyFans & made $1m in her first day. This isn’t the bad part. She sent out a $200 pay-per-view (PPV) message that she claimed was a nude photo but when subscribers paid to open it, they found it was a lingerie photo. Seeing as she SCAMMED them, they wanted their money back and OnlyFans has a policy that you get your money back if you get scammed.
"So, suddenly a tonne of people ask for a charge back and this causes problems for OnlyFans as they have processing costs, so people suddenly requesting millions in chargebacks makes them lose a lot of money... OnlyFans [then changed] their policies so now the maximum price for a PPV message is $50, maximum tip someone can send is $100, and all the money you make on OnlyFans is pending for 30 days." Previously, creators could access their funds after a week.
Heidewald added that this further policy change will have a major impact on sex workers, who will all of a sudden no longer have a weekly wage. "People have bills to pay. Kids to feed. Many people, including content creators and sex workers, live paycheck to paycheck. How are they going to pay their bills this month? How are they going to feed themselves and their families? This is REAL HARM."
She continued, "Bella Thorne does not care if sex workers can make money, if they can survive, if they can get respect for their work. She thought it would be fun to wade into our life carelessly and in doing hurt our ability to provide for ourselves... She SCAMMED people, which leads to the spread of a dangerous and unfair stereotype that sex workers are scammers, even though every content creator I know works their ass off and cares about providing value."
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
You Might Also Like
