(NOTE CONTENT) Last week, the video platform OnlyFans made headlines by apparently pulling a 180, reversing a previous announcement that it would ban adult content. The ban led to an outcry from content creators and followers alike, which the platform claimed was in part behind their decision to “suspend” the ban.
The initial decision was to placate “banking partners and payout providers” who apparently balked at being associated with a platform that wasn’t necessarily built for NSFW content, but certainly flourished because of it.
Mia Isabella, an OnlyFans provider and adult film star, told ABC Audio that the now-suspended ban was ironic on its face: “[OnlyFans] had an acquisitions person that came out to acquire the talent from my industry to build a platform, that was how it was started.”
She explains, “I’m very grateful that they decided to keep the terms and actually stand up to whatever discriminatory practices…are being used against our particular industry.”
That said, for many content creators, the reversal was greeted with skepticism. Addison Sins gave up a career in the healthcare industry for a far more lucrative career on OnlyFans. She tells ABC Audio about the now-suspended ban, “A lot of us are trying to know…was it a publicity stunt?”
She adds, “It’s just that there’s so much uncertainty now that they’ve done something like that, that a lot of the community of the girls I work with no longer trust OnlyFans.”
Another adult performer, Marcela Alonso, offers, “They said suspend, not cancel, ‘suspend’ means that it’s just temporary. So with that being said, I personally am not keeping my eggs all in one basket…And it’s up to each content creator to…learn about the other platforms and just diversify, just in case.”
The subscription platform is pushing to branch out, with mainstream celebrities signing on, and the launch of its OFTV offshoot platform, which features cooking shows and the like, But Mia says ultimately, OnlyFans needs the content it tried to ban.
“I understand that seems so cool that musicians and athletes and people that are not in the adult industry might join the platform. But the platform wasn’t built for them.” She adds of OnlyFans, “They’re not going to make money. All those hundred and twenty million members are fans of the adult performers. They’re not going to be watching musicians and paying membership fees to see what their next single is going to be. They could just go on YouTube.”
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