OnlyFans is having a moment on TV.
Sydney Sweeney is making headlines with it on “Euphoria.” Elle Fanning is doing it on “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” It also popped up on “Industry” and “Abbott Elementary.”
On HBO Max’s “Euphoria,” Cassie (Sweeney) is shown filming fetish content for the platform, and making over $60K in a short period of time to send to her debt-ridden husband, Nate (Jacob Elordi).
“It can come down to luck, in some cases,” he noted.
The social media platform first launched in 2016. There, over 4 million creators directly interact with their subscribers, or “fans,” through sending them pay-per-view content such as photos, videos, and private messages. Many creators – but not all of them – post explicit adult material.
Digital sex work “can be just as dangerous as in-person,” Canaan warned, because when creators share explicit photos and videos, they’re “out there” in the world.
“People can use it to blackmail you,” she said, before quipping, “Wow, I sound like a ‘don’t do drugs’ PSA!”
“Euphoria” has gotten backlash for Cassie’s explicit content, such as dressing up as a dog, a baby, and mailing her used panties to her subscribers. Meanwhile, AppleTV+’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” has addressed what can happen, as Margo (Fanning) attempts to do the work anonymously, but she gets doxxed and finds herself facing judgement from family and friends.
Canaan cautioned aspiring OnlyFans creators to “understand the risks” and to look at “all sides of it” before they “just look at ‘Euphoria.’”
Neyfakh thinks OnlyFans is all over TV now because it has become “such a recognizable brand.”
“It’s like Xerox,” he said. “Everyone has a sense through osmosis of what it is.”
It became more widely known to the average person in recent years, she explained, as the world entered “the height of parasocial relationships” online. “Economic uncertainty” has also pushed people to turn to the platform to make a living, as more traditional job markets have shrunk.
Now, TV shows like “Euphoria,” “Industry,” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” have elevated it even further into the public mainstream sphere.
In reality, she explained, “it is running a business. It is marketing, it is sales, it is strategy. I think people don’t understand the business savvy required.”
“This is another job. It can be really fun and rewarding….But, people don’t realize the mundanity.”
Neyfakh was also surprised by what he heard from subscribers, as he spoke to them for his Audible series.
He learned “how big a part of their lives” OnlyFans can be.
“It’s a real outlet for people who don’t have access to romance in their lives.”
He noted that this can “go sideways” when subscribers form “unrealistic expectations” of what their relationship is with their favorite creator.
The relationships between subscribers and creators are, “not real. And they’re real, at the same time,” he said, adding that the platform has “blurred that line” in a way “that I found surprising and fascinating.”
Several mainstream celebs have joined the platform in recent years, such as Denise Richards, “The Sopranos” star Drea de Matteo, and “American Pie” actress Shannon Elizabeth, who reportedly made $1 million in her first week.
But, she acknowledged that celebs using the platform also helps “destigmatize it.”
“Euphoria” has gestured at the idea that OnlyFans creators are “the new Hollywood,” and Neyfakh told us that many of the creators he met share that mentality.
“I think that analogy works really well, because – as with Hollywood – lots of people go there with big dreams,” he said. “They think they can become the next Emma Stone or whatever…But, it happens to very few people, actually.”
“OnlyFantasy” is out on Audible on May 21.
