IT’S PORN AGAIN!
OnlyFans won’t ban naughtiest content after all
OnlyFans says it no longer plans to ban porn, in an abrupt reversal that comes after a backlash from sex workers who use the popular platform to sell sexually explicit photos and videos.
“We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned Oct. 1 policy change,” the company said on Twitter. “OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators.”
The news comes less than a week after OnlyFans said it would ban all sexually explicit content starting Oct. 1 while allowing some nudity.
In a statement to The Post, OnlyFans spokesperson Sophia Bernardi said the porn ban is “no longer required due to banking partners’ assurances that OnlyFans can support all genres of creators.” The company plans to send an “official communication to creators” soon.
The ban announcement led to a swift outcry from the hundreds of thousands of creators who sell explicit photos and videos on the platform — but the company’s reversal Wednesday also left many creators feeling betrayed.
“My initial reaction was, ‘Yes, that’s fantastic,’” OnlyFans creator Courtney Tillia told The Post about Wednesday’s announcement. “And then I was like, wait a second. I feel like they only took this back because they realized the repercussions to it.
“I want to be part of a platform that celebrates sex workers, not just tolerates them,” she added.
Even after the initial weekend backlash, OnlyFans founder and CEO Tim Stokely doubled down on the decision Tuesday, saying the company “had no choice” but to ban porn because big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of New York Mellon made it tough to do business.
Banks would sometimes unfairly flag transactions or even outright refuse to work with OnlyFans due to “reputational risk,” Stokely said. The company pays out more than $300 million each month to more than 1 million creators.
OnlyFans didn’t give details on what had changed between the company and the banks. The banks didn’t comment to CNBC.
Meanwhile, performer Tillia said the flip-flop has led her and other top creators to seriously consider leaving the platform.
“I’m one of the top 1 percent of creators, and I’m friends with many of the others — and many of us have already begun to transition to other platforms,” Tillia said. “I would love for Tim Stokely to give me a call and tell us what he’s going to do to reassure us.”
Tillia, who bills herself as a “women’s life coach,” says she rakes in between $20,000 to $100,000 monthly on OnlyFans from her 17,000 paid subscribers.
Meanwhile, other OnlyFans creators on a Reddit forum, said the flip-flop was making them, too, consider leaving the site.
“Yeah, they can still go f--k themselves,” said one creator on Reddit. “I’m completely switching to Fansly as soon as possible.”
Fansly is an OnlyFans alternative that saw increased interest from OnlyFans creators after the company initially announced its porn ban.
But Tillia said she was in no “rush” to leave because, “I want to make sure it’s a smooth transition for me and all my subscribers.” She added. “I’m not trying to leave everyone high and dry like OnlyFans did to us.”
Tillia and other creators also took issue with OnlyFans’ “suspending,” not canceling, the porn ban.
“Suspended?” asked Tillia. “Does that mean it’s going to come back soon? What does this mean?”
The short-lived ban was part of what many observers saw as a broader push to clean up the company’s smutty reputation.
The company recently launched a “safe for work” iPhone and Android app called OFTV that does not allow nudity and features content like podcasts and cooking shows.
A cleaner image could help to attract more outside investment, as many investment firms have agreements that prevent them from investing in “vice” industries like porn, alcohol and firearms.
Stokely has denied that the ban was designed to attract outside investors.