Oop. Reality TV Stars Are Getting Hip to the OnlyFans Gig
Is it an Embrace of Sex Work or a Cynical Cash Grab?
Article: Chris Cali
OnlyFans, the social media website where creators charge monthly subscriptions to view their content, has grown more and more familiar in the American pop cultural consciousness over the past few years. Though not specifically marketed as a pornography site, it has become a preferred medium for both professional and amateur porn performers to earn exponential income. Anyone with a large social media following can easily monetize their brand by offering “exclusive” content only available via the subscription and the site also has a variety of tools for driving profit, from a “tip” feature to fundraising for specific goals, and even charging subscribers a fee for the privilege of private messaging. While the site is used by creators of all genders, it has become highly visible in gay male online spaces as creators promote their content via their various socials, with the term “OnlyFans Gays” quickly emerging as both a descriptor and sometimes a term of derision. As with many other trends that begin in LGBTQ culture, it was only a matter of time before cisgender heteros finally got hip to it.
As sex work is still largely regarded with moral judgements and disdain in American society, the slow trickle of more and more visible televison and internet personalties to creating OnlyFans content is the online equivalent of a hushed whisper of lascivious gossip. Since the advent of Instagram and other social media sites that followed, sexualized content and “thirst trapping” have allowed countless influencers to grow their following and move toward monetizing their brand and an internet culture obsessed with “exposing” the nudes of celebrities at all tiers of notoriety only increases their profiles. In its heyday Tumblr had thousands of blogs dedicated to compiling and “exposing” the nudes and sex vidoes of popular social media personalities and reality television stars. Gay male online culture in particular has helped drive the hunger for certain influencers like Dallas Wade (@Flashmanwade), Jeramie Hollins (@jeramierubenmma), Henny Papi (@zander904) and Ronnie Banks (@ronniebanks) who all played into the “will he or won’t he?” strategy of building buzz for a potential OnlyFans page and who all eventually went on to finally drop their links. Though the aforementioned and many other influencers who have followed the same trajectory are cishetero men, and some have even posted homophobic content in the past, there are varying levels of intentional gay-baiting at play in their social media strategies. Some like Wade & Hollins even interact, engage in teasing, subtle flirtation and cross promote with popular gay porn performers to drive subscriptions and increase their retention.
Reactions to this type of gay-baiting within the community are split. While some see the willingness of cishetero celebrities and influencers to tease at a more fluid sexuality, expand representations of gender and create content that intentionally appeals to their LGBTQ fanbase as progressive, others see it as exploiting certain popular aspects of queer culture for clout, “likes” and financial gain. Like other forms of cultural appropriation, some see it as dabbling into marginalized identities without ever actually having to suffer the discrimination and oppresion queer folks experience in their every day lives. When a recent Instagram video featuring Henny Papi exhibiting mannerisms some found effeminate went viral, he responded on Twitter with a typical, if not boringly familiar “I aint’ with that gay shit.” Perhaps in a sign of the times, or Twitter’s swift and aggressive “call out” culture, or his desire to not alienate potential gay subscribers, he deleted that tweet and proceeded to fill his timeline with more affirming messages, including “If u thank im homophobic ur dumb ahell.” For some of his gay followers his aesthetic appeal, his begrudging declaration of potential allyship, and the allure of his OnlyFans content may be enough to excuse past indiscretions. As with other celebrities, public figures and corporations who simultaneously court LGBTQ attention and dollars but may also have a checkered past when it comes to actually supporting equality and queer liberation, there’s an argument to be made for whether or not these individuals and entities deserve our support and our money. However, the endlessly refreshing nature of social media content that has become so normalized also has a way of washing controversy through the cycle until a new one appears or the old ones resurface. That these cishetero influencers who often embody tropes of masculinity are choosing to engage openly in sex work in the first place–not to mention in a capacity that will no doubt attract a gay following–could be interpreted as a sign of social progress but it may not be that clear cut. Misogynist stereotypes about and attitudes toward women who do sex work are still abundant, for example, and most types of sex work are still heavily stigmatized and much of it is still crimalized. Additionally, the actual content found on some of these OnlyFans pages once the creator has pocketed their money has left some subscribers feeling as if they’ve been scammed rather than sexually liberated.
In American society’s hierarchy of celebrity status, social media influencers obviously occupy a specific terrain, and perhaps closely adjacent yet slightly just above that lies the ever expanding universe of reality television stars, where some also seem to now be embracing the financial opportunity OnlyFans provides. Papii Rosë (@princehasspoken) and Safaree (@safaree), of Love & Hip Hop fame, both recently dropped OnlyFans links to mixed online receptions. Papii Rosë, perhaps taking a cue from other popular influencers, cultivated a gay following locally in Miami nightlife while also increasing his profile on reality TV, which no doubt expanded his potential subscribers.
When a Twitter account dedicated to leaking pictures and videos from some of these celebrity OnlyFans pages recently posted a video of his penis and tweeted at him, Papii Rosë responded: “Every time y’all leak I get more fans . So have fun . (:” Safaree had been laying the groundwork via his social media and leaned into the marketing opportunities that online speculation about the size of his penis and later a leak of his nudes presented, and thus OnlyFans appears as a logical next step. Similar to the appearance fees varying levels of fame can demand, the more high profile the celebrity, the more money they can charge for this latest product. Safaree’s OnlyFans monthly subscription is priced at a reasonable $20 but subscribers can also purchase individual private videos, with some priced as high as $150. It’s not necessarily atypical for content creators to lure subscribers with short clips or teases of content on other platforms, only for them to discover that even once they have subscribed that the juiciest material is locked behind an additional purchase, and each individual certainly has the right to determine what they believe their own content is worth. However with Safaree’s in particular, leaks of some of these pricey videos reveal rather PG-rated content and have left some subscribers disappointed by the lack of more explicit material. When a “dick print” or partial nudity is already available on free platforms, offering users much of the same but for exorbitant prices doesn’t exactly engender customer satisfaction and most certainly wouldn’t drive retention. Lustful curiosity is, of course, an essential element to marketing an OnlyFans page, whether it’s built with IG thirst trap “dick print” photos, teasing partial nudity in a Story, or 30 second explicit previews of longer sex videos on Twitter. When a viewer hits that “Subscribe” button, there is no guarantee they will ultimately find satisfaction with the content, but there is a guarantee the creator will pocket their cut of the subscription fee. Whether someone like Safaree is paving the way for progressive support of sex workers or simply exploiting his audience for a quick cash grab remains to be seen.
Not to be outdone by the Straights, several LGBTQ reality TV stars have also recently dropped OnlyFans links, including Love and Hip Hop’s Bobby Lytes (@bobbylytes), Remy Duran (@remdelarem) from Are You The One?, Geoffrey Mac (@geoffreymac), winner of Project Runway Season 18, and Jozea Flores (@jozeaofficial) who has appeared on multiple reality shows including Ex On The Beach, The Challenge and Big Brother. While Duran has long been an advocate of sex positivity and outspoken in his support of sex work, OnlyFans presents a new direction in the careers of Lytes and Flores. Perhaps most surprising is Mac’s announcement, considering he walked away from his reality TV stint victory $250k richer and with brand new international notoriety for his ambitions as a fashion designer. What motivated this decision is unclear, but perhaps Mac doesn’t see his mainstream work in the arena of fashion as mutually exclusive to his earning potential in other less universally embraced ventures. After all, queerness has long been about breaking down and restructuring traditional, heteronormative modes of society and culture, and he might potentially lead the way for others to consider sex work something that can co-exist along with more mainstream career endeavors.
Specifically how this move will affect Lytes, Duran, Mac and Flores in their careers in mainstream television is anyone’s guess and will no doubt serve as a marker of how far popular culture has or has not come in the way it regards men who have done sex work openly, and in a broader context, how gay men are allowed to represent themselves and still be seen as legitimate in contexts outside that sex work. Leaked nudes and the exposure of past sex work can still become career ending scandals depending on which career one pursues, but in a post Kardashian world there is evidence that at least in the entertainment industry, OnlyFans may be an infinitely more lucrative option than struggling to get cast on the next television show, book a dance gig, or hoping to get signed by a major record label and drop a hit single.
