2 hours ago Just now
Natasha Cox, Amelia Ellis, Kirstie Brewerand Mike Radford,BBC News
Gus Palmer/BBC
OnlyFans creator Rebecca was subjected to abusive messages and violence
Warning: contains details of unit that immoderate readers mightiness find distressing
Rebecca, an OnlyFans creator, joined an bureau aft they promised to assistance her gain much connected the big societal media level - instead, they abused her, threatened her girl and dispatched convulsive masked men to onslaught her astatine home, she says.
"They were beauteous astatine the beginning."
The 29-year-old from southbound Wales says her caller managers told her she was beauteous and they had "never seen a girl" similar her before.
The abusive behaviour escalated aft she changed her relationship login details, disquieted the bureau - which could entree her relationship - would fastener her out, she says.
"I volition person you and your girl wrote off," said 1 connection seen by the BBC.
A ceramic smashed her model and, a fewer weeks later, 2 masked men arrived astatine her house. One came inside, she says, strangled her and threw her "up and down the stairs". She shows the BBC photos of bruises implicit her legs and throat.
Her ordeal forms portion of a signifier of allegations against agents, self-styled online arsenic OnlyFans managers (OFMs). They committedness to assistance creators turn their businesses connected the level but, BBC findings show, are sometimes exploitative and threatening.
We heard from 60 UK OnlyFans creators and embedded ourselves successful 1 of the largest backstage Telegram groups for agents, called OFM Empire, which has 24,000 members.
There, we recovered proposal connected signing creators, taking power of their accounts and reaping profits - often utilizing the menace of violence. One idiosyncratic called this the "pimp method".
OnlyFans has known astir concerns astir over-exploitative OFMs for astatine slightest 4 years, erstwhile allegations astir agencies archetypal surfaced successful the planetary press.
But, for the archetypal time, our probe focuses connected the UK, wherever OnlyFans is based. It shows the level is not doing capable to support creators from exploitation, according to the quality rights experts and lawyers who person seen our findings.
"What Rebecca experienced are each recognised signs of exploitation - control, coercion, fiscal unit and an inability to permission freely," the UK's autarkic anti-slavery commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, tells the BBC.
"It is thing that the authorities needs to look astatine successful much detail… we perchance person a level which is enabling exploitation, enabling abuse."
An OnlyFans spokesperson said: "The allegation we 'turn a unsighted eye' [to these issues] is unfounded."
The institution takes idiosyncratic information "incredibly seriously" and invests "heavily" successful measures to support its community, the spokesperson continued, adding that it meets each its duties nether the Online Safety Act.
"OnlyFans' narration is with our creators and fans and we are not connected with, and bash not endorse, immoderate 3rd parties including absorption agencies.
"Unfortunately, we cannot reappraisal oregon power immoderate contractual relationships creators take to participate into extracurricular the level arsenic we are not enactment to them."
Gia Clarke and Lily Phillips are some palmy OnlyFans creators but accidental women connected the level tin beryllium vulnerable
More than 4.6 cardinal OnlyFans creators worldwide upload videos and photos for their paying subscribers. The level takes a 20% cut.
One of the UK's societal media occurrence stories, the institution that operates OnlyFans, Fenix International Limited, reported yearly pre-tax profits of $684m (£513m) successful its latest filing.
A planetary ecosystem of OFMs has grown alongside the platform, chasing the success. They committedness to pull much subscribers and boost net - and, successful exchange, OFMs instrumentality a proportionality of the creators' pre-tax earnings, commonly 50%.
Gia Clarke, a UK creator who has been posting connected OnlyFans since its motorboat 10 years ago, says she receives much messages from OFMs than from fans.
"The conception [of OFMs] is truly good, it's conscionable that determination are excessively galore unqualified people... due to the fact that determination are nary regulations, the models don't cognize who to trust," she says, describing immoderate OFMs arsenic "predatory".
Creators' OFM contracts shared with the BBC amusement managers taking up to 70% of earnings. Many request afloat entree to relationship logins and enforce fines connected creators who effort to permission contracts early.
"They [OFMs] are taking advantage... which is astir placing these contented creators successful servitude to the agents and agencies, trapped successful a declaration which is unfair," says Matt Jury of quality rights specializer instrumentality firm, McCue Jury & Partners.
Sophie Kemp, caput of nationalist instrumentality astatine Kingsley Napley, agrees: "This isn't truly a just declaration concern astatine all. They look to beryllium the archetypal measurement successful the roadworthy to exploiting creators."
Discussions similar this are taking spot connected Telegram, the BBC found
Several of the 60 creators we spoke to accidental their managers had accessed their accounts and past lied astir their net to pouch much money. One says their manager had changed their password to fastener them out. Another says their OFM changed the slope details connected the relationship truthful wealth went straight to the manager.
Similar tactics are openly discussed connected the OFM Empire Telegram channel.
"Create an email and password for their [OnlyFans]. They can't log in," 1 idiosyncratic says. "I person entree to their [payment platform] nether their sanction again [in] my created email. And password. I person afloat power of everything."
OnlyFans has "strict onboarding processes, outgo controls and ongoing relationship moderation", the institution spokesperson says. If concerns astir an relationship are raised, OnlyFans volition instantly restrict the account, investigate, and instrumentality enactment to guarantee the creator is successful power of their account, they added.
But erstwhile a pistillate BBC newsman acceptable up an relationship with a verified photo, she was capable to usage a antheral colleague's slope relationship details to person trial payments.
OnlyFans told the BBC that: "In the UK, wherever a creator requests a payout from their OnlyFans accounts, our third-party outgo providers undertake confirmation of payee checks erstwhile processing that payment. Where this cheque is not palmy the outgo volition beryllium rejected."
Rebecca warns different women to bash their probe earlier moving with an OFM
Rebecca says she changed her OnlyFans password aft a person with the aforesaid OFM had her login details changed by them without her consent, blocking her retired of the account.
The mother-of-one says abusive telephone calls and messages followed.
"He's sending maine my ain address, telling maine however he's gonna plaything maine and my girl astir by our hair," says Rebecca.
"See you soon whore," work different connection seen by the BBC.
A ceramic smashed done Rebecca's model a fewer days later, she says, and though she called the police, she was excessively frightened to notation the OnlyFans agency.
She describes being attacked, 3 weeks later, erstwhile 2 masked men came to her house.
"They [one of the men] were connected apical of me, strangling me, and I conscionable tried getting my telephone to ringing idiosyncratic due to the fact that I thought, this is it.
"After they proved their point, they stopped and left."
Rebecca is convinced some incidents were connected to her manager. "I've got nary atrocious humor with anybody else."
Rebecca showed the BBC photos of her bruises
She is not the lone creator we spoke to who says they person faced threats.
Another woman, who asked to stay anonymous, says she initially agreed to springiness up betwixt 35% and 40% of her earnings, but aboriginal decided that was excessively high.
"He told maine that if I privation to driblet [the] percent past I person to wage him £10,000 due to the fact that of however overmuch clip and effort he's enactment into me."
When she refused, she says, her manager said she would "get what's coming to you".
"Is helium gonna travel to my house? Is helium going to delete my account? He utilized to archer maine stories of what he's done to different girls, similar however he's got their accounts deleted, however helium sent lawyers to the house," she says.
"I'd get the unusual connection each week - you're gonna get what's coming to you. Just you wait, it's coming." She has since near this manager.
Leanne, 33, signed a declaration that gave her manager entree to her relationship and the quality to alteration the email code connected it, arsenic good arsenic 50% of her pre-tax net - aft OnlyFans had taken its cut.
The contract, seen by the BBC, said she would beryllium required to fulfil subscribers' requests for contented wrong 24 hours.
She says she told her manager erstwhile she signed that she would not marque explicit videos - but she says they perpetually pressured her to bash them.
She yet agreed to movie 1 to "shut them up", she says, provided it was not sold to her followers for little than $250 (£187). She felt "physically sick" aft filming the video and did not adjacent ticker it, she says.
Leanne is nary longer an OnlyFans creator
Leanne aboriginal discovered it had been sold for little than $40 (£30).
"It conscionable made maine consciousness truthful disgusting and truthful degraded," she says. She is nary longer posting connected OnlyFans.
OnlyFans has known astir concerns regarding over-exploitative OFMs via media coverage, but we besides cognize of astatine slightest 1 creator who has straight tried to marque the institution aware.
Riley alerted the level to discussions successful OFM Empire that suggested agents were buying and selling creators' contracts without creators knowing.
"The tactics of these groups consistently turn much and much exploitative," she wrote successful an email to the OnlyFans enactment squad successful 2024, seen by the BBC.
She was asked to supply evidence, and sent links to OFM Empire and screengrabs of messages connected the forum.
There was not capable grounds for OnlyFans to instrumentality action, she was aboriginal told.
- If you are affected by immoderate of the issues successful this story, assistance and enactment is disposable at BBC Action Line
"Any atrocious actors exploiting creators" should beryllium reported to OnlyFans, and wherever indispensable the police, the level told the BBC, truthful they "can beryllium held accountable and due enactment tin beryllium taken against them to support our creator community".
The UK's anti-slavery commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, says OnlyFans has a ineligible work to support users from amerciable contented and to enactment swiftly to region it erstwhile it becomes aware.
"It's alarming that cases of exploitation are being reported but look to beryllium not decently acted on," she says erstwhile we amusement her Riley's emails. "That raises superior concerns astir whether OnlyFans is gathering its ineligible duties to support users."
Lyons says she is "already engaging with" Ofcom - the UK watchdog for online information - and policymakers, who "need to wage overmuch person attention".
OFMs should look greater scrutiny and perchance beryllium licensed, she adds.
Ofcom told america that grounds from victims featured successful this probe was "deeply concerning".
"Regulated sites and apps, specified arsenic OnlyFans, indispensable measure the hazard of their services being utilized to facilitate the committee of offences," it said successful a statement. "Any offences which instrumentality spot wholly offline, however, are not caught by the Online Safety Act."
Lily Phillips, 1 of the highest earning UK creators connected OnlyFans, says a deficiency of regularisation astir OFMs creates "a unsafe abstraction wherever susceptible radical tin beryllium taken vantage of".
"People realise however overmuch wealth you tin marque from OnlyFans. So, you know, everyone wants a portion of the pie, particularly men… they privation their small piece," she says.
Sophie Kemp, from Kingsley Napley instrumentality firm, says OnlyFans has a work of attraction to its creators and, based connected our evidence, she believes "it is lone a substance of clip earlier OnlyFans faces claims of negligence from creators who person suffered harm".
Rebecca says she wanted to beryllium her aged bureau incorrect by making a occurrence of her enactment OnlyFans.
She is present signed with an bureau wherever the contented is handled by women, which she says makes her "feel a batch better".
Being an OnlyFans creator "is not going to beryllium a everlastingly thing", she says, and 1 time she hopes to person made capable wealth to possibly ain her ain horse-riding school.
English (US)·