Earlier this year, former Disney star turned internet antagonist Bella Thorne found herself in hot water after joining OnlyFans, the increasingly popular subscription platform long dominated by sex workers selling NSFW content. In joining the platform, Thorne was among a growing number of celebrities to do so, sparking fears among the sex work community that celebrity presence would overshadow sex workers who rely on OnlyFans as a main source of income or force them off the platform entirely.
In addition to contributing to the growing celebrity saturation of the platform, Thorne was also blamed for a new policy limiting prices OnlyFans creators can charge for their content, which was implemented shortly after the star sold a photo of herself for $200, quickly breaking the record for the most money earned in one day on the platform. Thorne eventually coughed up a half-baked apology, but recent comments from the star suggest she actually learned nothing from the whole ordeal.
Months after the initial drama, Thorne has resurfaced seemingly with the sole intention of stirring the pot once again. In an Instagram story posted earlier this week, Thorne claimed to be the “first” to join OnlyFans, writing, “Everyone jumping on OnlyFans but I took the hit for doing it first, cool. Legit everyone in my news feed following in my footsteps, but when I was getting heat, y’all were scared.”
Thorne’s claim to have joined the platform “first” is obviously and objectively false, considering OnlyFans has existed since 2016 and was dominated by sex workers for years before it caught the attention of mainstream celebrities like Thorne. As you may recall, though Bella Thorne clearly cannot, that’s the main reason she received backlash for joining in the first place.
But even if Thorne means to refer to herself as the “first” celebrity to join the platform, such a claim is still objectively false. Multiple celebrities including Cardi B — arguably a much bigger name than Bella Thorne — joined the platform before the former Disney star, and celebrity presence on the platform was already a topic of controversy months before Thorne escalated the issue upon joining OnlyFans in August.
Naturally, Thorne’s latest comments weren’t particularly well received:
Anyway, congrats to Bella Thorne for securing her role as one of the worst celebrities of 2020.
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