You might have noticed that in the past couple of years there’s been an increasing number of reality TV stars that have made a name for themselves in so-called Australia who then go on to join OnlyFans to make a fuckload of cash.
By the time production has wrapped, they’ve amassed a dedicated following who are quick to become paying subscribers on their OnlyFans. The public visibility of celebrities using OnlyFans feels like a crossroads now in terms of how we view sexual content, and opens a bigger dialogue around people who do sex work.
Abbie Chatfield recently called out fellow Bachelor alumni Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston on Instagram following comments the pair made about the subscription service OnlyFans.
Last week, the couple answered a question on their Instagram stories about whether they would join the site. The couple said no, they would not. Which is cool and fine, but then they went on a little further and shared their disapproval of OnlyFans as a whole and the reality stars who pivot towards it.
“I think there’s been a little bit of a trend in people coming off reality shows and leveraging that degree of fame to then sell nudes online,” said Holly, a white influencer flanked by her matching beau in the confines of their $2 million Bondi apartment.
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Jimmy said: “my problem with it is that people are saying they’re doing it because it’s female empowerment or male empowerment, I think that’s a load of shit personally. If people wish to celebrate empowerment, they should instead try to be real role models to future generations” — suggesting sex workers can’t be role models as well.
I’ve had my fair share of different jobs within the sex industry: camming, online strip shows, full-service sex work, private escort work — you name it. But unlike these two I don’t have generational wealth, private school prestige, let alone any family to help pay my rent. For people in similar circumstances to mine, online adult platforms and other avenues within the sex industry might be our only viable options of income.
After the backlash the couple faced the following day, Abbie Chatfield weighed in on social media to share how the situation made her feel “extremely uncomfortable”.
“Sex work is real work and should be respected. As influencers I’d hope you would be role models in not shaming marginalised communities”, she said in a DM to the couple which she later shared on her story.
We’re seeing entire career paths paved out here. It’s the same formula of having a core audience who’s invested in whatever you’re posting online, which is not necessarily sex related content, it could be anything. You’re gaining a following, which is what every content creator is trying to achieve in one way or another. It’s just the way people view sex work which hinders it as being a viable job, or not as “moral” as uploading a set of nice of holiday or honeymoon photos to Instagram.
Lottie Moss, the younger sister of Kate Moss, recently appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast and discussed her success on OnlyFans. She criticised the public backlash she received which described being on OnlyFans as a “fall from grace”, to being in this “terrible” OnlyFans situation instead of following in her sister’s footsteps and becoming a supermodel. “I’m essentially doing the same thing. I’m modeling and I’m showing off pictures and they’re going to an audience who’s paying for them,” she said.
What’s the difference between those being published in a magazine or on a billboard? Kate Moss had many lingerie campaigns and even walked in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. How’s one’s selling images in a modeling campaign any different to posting content on OnlyFans and receiving payment directly?
That’s not to say OnlyFans is above criticism — the platform itself is problematic and has constantly been whorephobic and censored sex workers who use the website. It completely devalued the revenue its content creators bring to the business, and at one time even going as far as banning all sexual content providers, only to change its mind when called out.
OnlyFans also has community guidelines that have led to the removal of many sex workers’ videos due to the type of kink that’s involved. I’ve turned to apps such as Snapchat in the past to charge clients for virtual strip shows and personalised content catered to their needs because I don’t have to worry about OnlyFans’ strict online censorship.
But that being said, a large percentage of users of the platform are femme presenting people and are taking control of their autonomy, business and sexuality. They’re creating the content themselves and are reaping the rewards. You don’t need some dude behind the camera or a production guy anymore, unless you’re filming something higher budget.
It’s interesting that this is making people like Jimmy and Holly uncomfortable despite the fact that they’re also capitalising on their post Bachelor fame and making quite a bit of money from sponsorships on Instagram. It’s the same as what Oliva Frazer, Jackson Lonie, Jessika Power, et al are doing — just in a way they think is “moral”.
If you’re going to speak without lived experience about a marginalised industry that is made up of women, people of colour, the LGBTQIA+SB community, neurodivergent, chronically ill and non-able bodied people, you should check your privilege.
In Jimmy and Holly’s minds the equation of morality and selling nudes is mutually exclusive but, how are they any different from us? In the end we’re all extracting profit from our bodies for a paycheck.
@badgalcovphephe is an unapologetic sex worker, writer, model, and performer based in Naarm who uses their Instagram to explore the intersection of being a queer Muslim Indian/Iranian/multi-racial femme in a white world. Their work explores these common threads. Their work has been published in TØS Journal and has been actively working with Vixen Transition Committee for the full decriminalisation of sex work in Victoria. Follow them on Instagram or Twitter.
