Just like Elle Fanning’s character in Margo’s Got Money Troubles, moms are turning to OnlyFans to support themselves and their kids, and even celebrity parents are cashing in.
On May 7, actress Jaime Pressly launched her page on the subscription-based content platform, joining an ever-growing list of celebrity moms on the site. “I’ve always believed in evolving with the times,” the My Name is Earl star said in a statement to Variety about joining OnlyFans. “This is another way for me to connect directly with my audience, on my own terms, with creativity and intention.”
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Jaime Pressly
Andreas Branch/Variety
On her page, Pressly promises subscribers “access to exclusive photos & videos, behind-the-scenes moments from my life, late-night thoughts & candid moments, direct chats with me, the side of me Hollywood doesn’t always get to see,” describing the content as “A little sweet. A little wild. Always authentic.” The mom of three joins many other celebrities selling everything from nude photos, as do Iggy Azalea and Denise Richards, to foot photos, which is true for Lily Allen.
OnlyFans has become a place for women (predominately) to sell exclusive content to paying customers with ease. In Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Elle Fanning’s Margo is a single mom who turns to OnlyFans when she can’t continue waitressing without child care, and she can’t pay for child care without a job; a working mother’s eternal struggle.
It’s a lucrative move for many. Pressly’s OnlyFans launch comes less than a month after American Pie actress Shannon Elizabeth earned more than $1.2 million in her first week on the platform. She explained the move to People: “I’ve spent my entire career working in Hollywood, where other people controlled the narrative and the outcome of my career. This new chapter is about changing that, showing off a more sexy side no one has seen, and being closer to my fans.”
There’s autonomy for women on OnlyFans. Margo’s Got Money Troubles shows that. It also shows the drawbacks: judgment, shaming, and hypersexualization from those watching from the outside. Pressley and other women on OnlyFans know this intimately. The platform, which is most often associated with sex work, is more of an outlet for Margo’s creativity than anything else. This seems to be the OnlyFans Pressley and many other celebrities envision for themselves. Any of the drawbacks may speak more to the way women’s creative work is sexualized than it does to the women doing that work.