Celebrities call it liberation. But beyond the glam filters and five-star feet, a darker truth is playing out. We unpack the complex reality of OnlyFans — and why safety, agency and power deserve a deeper conversation.

The Celebrity Stamp of Approval

What do Lily Allen’s feet, Jessie Cave’s hair, and Drea De Matteo’s mortgage have in common? They’ve all made headlines thanks to OnlyFans.

A sentence that might’ve sounded ludicrous a few years ago now feels oddly normal.

Once niche, OnlyFans is now firmly mainstream — a product of cost-of-living pressures, pandemic boredom, and a culture obsessed with monetising the self. For celebrities, it’s become a quirky side hustle or financial safety net. Lily Allen joined after discovering she had five-star feet on WikiFeet (yes, that’s a thing). She now reportedly charges $10 a month for foot content. Harry Potter actress Jessie Cave launched a page catering to hair-based kinks. And The Sopranos star Drea De Matteo has openly said the platform helped her pay off her mortgage — “in five minutes.”

These stories are served with a wink and soft focus. OnlyFans is sold as a digital playground for creativity, kink, self-branding and empowerment. And when you see women with fame, money and control using the platform on their own terms, it’s tempting to believe it really is that simple — and that harmless.

But that version of the story only tells part of the truth.

The Darker Side of the Business

While celebrities can curate both their content and their exit strategies, the reality for thousands of lesser-known creators is far more complex. News this weekend of a Ukrainian OnlyFans model found dumped by the side of a Dubai road with horrific injuries reveals a far darker side to this business.

Maria Kovalchuk, 20, had been missing for eight days after telling friends she’d been invited to a party at a hotel. On 19 March, she was discovered battered and bloodied, her spine and limbs broken. A real-life horror story.

When the Lines Blur

It’s not unusual for influencers or OnlyFans creators to be paid to attend parties — flown in, dressed up, and allegedly showered with expensive gifts. But we all know there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Behind the filtered posts and curated captions, there are unspoken transactions and blurred boundaries. These women rarely share the full story. And for young women watching, OnlyFans can start to look like a shortcut to financial freedom — a get-rich-quick route without full understanding of the world they’re stepping into.

Beneath the surface of curated content and clean branding lies something more sinister: pressure, risk, and exploitation. Many creators feel pushed to post increasingly explicit material, to meet extreme requests, to compete in a saturated marketplace where subscriptions can start at £4.99. The glamour fades fast. What’s left is the pressure to perform, to expose, to meet the relentless demands of anonymous subscribers — all while promoting it as choice.

The Rise of ‘Extreme’ Content

Then there are figures like Bonnie Blue and Lily Phillips, creators who’ve gained notoriety for publicly documenting sexual encounters with hundreds — sometimes thousands — of men in a single day. It’s branded as a milestone, a power move, a modern feminist flex. But it raises questions. For them. For those watching. And for the men participating.

When this kind of content is presented as aspirational, it reinforces a dangerous idea: that a woman’s worth lies in her sexual availability. That pushing past your own limits is something to be celebrated. That safety — even self-respect — is negotiable.

Normalising a Dangerous Narrative

Most alarmingly, it’s all being normalised. Not just for those consuming the content, but for those emulating it.

And sometimes, the consequences are devastating — as Maria’s story so heartbreakingly shows.

These women believed they were stepping into opportunity. What they encountered was something far more dangerous — and alarmingly common.

Because despite the branding around autonomy and “owning your body,” OnlyFans operates within an ecosystem shaped by demand. And overwhelmingly, that demand comes from men. It may feel empowering in theory — but in practice, it often replicates the same old dynamic: men watching, women performing. In that context, empowerment becomes performance. Agency becomes a product.

A Conversation We Need to Have

And what’s unfolding on OnlyFans doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part of a wider media landscape where violence, control and degradation are increasingly sold as entertainment — especially to boys.

Take Adolescence, the Netflix drama currently making headlines — even in Parliament. Based on real events, it follows a teenage boy who murders a young girl. With children as young as eight being exposed to violent pornography online before they’ve had a real conversation about consent or intimacy, it’s little wonder our young people are struggling.

Many of us grew up thinking love looked like Richard Gere in uniform or Tom Cruise on a motorbike. Today’s teens? They’re navigating a world where sex is transactional, power is prized, and affection rarely features.

For boys, that can mean seeing girls as things to dominate. For girls, it often means learning to perform — or endure — instead of connect. It’s a distortion of both intimacy and agency. And while OnlyFans isn’t the cause, it’s undoubtedly a symptom.

So while celebrities might celebrate the financial freedom OnlyFans offers, we need to be honest about what’s really going on. Because most users aren’t rich or protected. They’re often vulnerable. Often exposed. And often unaware of what they’re walking into — until it’s far too late.

At Hood, we’re not here to judge. But we are here to start better conversations. Because real empowerment shouldn’t require being consumed. And it should never mean putting yourself at risk just to feel seen.

If someone you know is considering signing up, talk to them. Ask the questions that don’t make it onto Instagram. Look past the filters. And remember: the most valuable things we can offer each other aren’t for sale.

Let’s Talk About It

With Adolescence dominating social media and OnlyFans normalised in teen conversations, parents of tweens and teens are on red alert. Here’s how to start the conversation — with both your daughters and your sons.

5 Things to Discuss With Your Daughter

1. Your body is yours. Not for clicks, not for validation, not for anyone else’s consumption. Full stop.

2. Affection isn’t performance. Challenge the idea that intimacy means putting on a show. Real relationships are built on connection, not content.

3. You are not a product. If a platform requires you to sell parts of yourself to feel visible, it’s not empowerment — it’s commodification.

4. Say no — and mean it. Boundaries aren’t optional. If something feels off, you don’t owe anyone an explanation. No is a full sentence.

5. What you see isn’t the whole story. Behind every glossy post could be pressure, manipulation, or danger. Teach her to look beyond the filters.

5 Things to Discuss With Your Son

1. Women are not content. It’s not harmless to watch, like, or share degrading media. It shapes how you see women — and how you treat them.

2. Consent starts with respect. Not just for the answer, but for the person giving it. “Yes” must always be enthusiastic and freely given.

3. Porn is not sex education.What’s online is fantasy. Often violent, often fake, and almost never rooted in mutual care or real connection.

4. Being a man doesn’t mean dominance. Real strength lies in empathy, kindness and knowing when to listen — not control.

5. Speak up. If something feels wrong — online, in the group chat, in real life — don’t stay silent. Be the voice that challenges it.

OnlyFans: Empowerment or Illusion?