A YouTube child star became a record-breaking OnlyFans creator within one minute of her 18th birthday, generating over $1 million in three hours.
The child star, thrust into the spotlight at age 9 in 2018, was popularized for her vulgar raps, explicit language, and obsession with wealth. Her mother seemed to be managing her life and social media presence.
The influencer alluded to entering the sex industry months ago by posting multiple videos asking her audience if she should “drop the link” to explicit content on her 18th birthday. She even stated that her male audience had been “waiting” for the content and requesting that she make such content as soon as she was legally able to.
Despite the warnings from many fans, the creator followed through.
Four days ago, she posted a video advertising “the youngest link of the century,” and alerted the internet of the exact time that the content would drop. Her advertising hinged on the fact that the content was created at 12:01 a.m. on her 18th birthday.
The strategy worked.
In three hours, the star made $1 million from subscriptions, DMs, and donations. In another social media video, she bragged about her earnings and even thanked parts of her audience that “preordered since 2018,” when she initially started her climb to fame around 10 years old.
Her story is not unique. Over the past year, many similar stories have broken, exposing our failure to protect young girls from online sexual exploitation.
Other underage stars dabble in explicit content, even visiting porn stars’ homes to film social media content. Young female stars, some of whom came to fame as preteens, openly ask the internet if they should make their own pornographic content once they turn 18.
Their inquiries are not removed by social media algorithms.
They make their future aspirations clear on their TikTok and Instagram accounts, which include links to external platforms with “exclusive” content that “fans” can view with a paid subscription.
These platforms read like OnlyFans, but they are catered to underage girls who aren’t legal on legitimate pornography sites yet.
Shockingly, these exploitative accounts are usually managed by parents, usually the girls’ mothers, who will stop at nothing to make sure their daughters remain in the limelight.
When parents turn a blind eye to or assist their children with suggestive posts, social media, and sex work companies pounce.
In an Instagram post, the creator mentioned that companies reached out to her before her 18th birthday, offering her contracts to begin work after she became legal.
“A whole lot of agencies… have hit me up even before my birthday,” she revealed. “They’re like, ‘We’ll give you 30 to 40 [million] to sign up with us and drop the link with us.’”
Were this problem confined to pop stars and young internet personalities, it would be expected. Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, and countless other child stars have tragically spiraled later in their lives; their stories are commonplace in Hollywood.
However, these 16- to 18-year-olds are influencers for a reason; they have millions of followers across their social media platforms and YouTube channels. Portions of their audiences that are not depraved men are largely young girls who look up to and envy their every move.
When girls see their idols turning to sex work and making millions, they want to follow suit.
In an article titled “Why so Many Teen Girls are Planning on Becoming OnlyFans Stars,” author and pediatric sexual assault nurse Heidi Olson explains the growing phenomenon of OnlyFans being an aspirational career for teens.
“Girls in… high school tell each other, ‘Only ugly girls get diplomas,’” she explains, because “many of the girls… don’t think that they need to graduate from high school [if] they can join OnlyFans when they are 18 and start making loads of money.”
Olson explains that numerous factors influence this belief in high schoolers. First is the incredible amount of time they spend online. Secondly, they are influenced by the content they digest on social media, which is largely pornographic material. Many high schoolers post scarcely clad photos and videos on their private accounts without any compensation, simply because such content has been normalized by their feeds.
Third, children, particularly young girls, are fed the lie that sex work pays well.
“Teens have been duped by OnlyFans and social media marketing to believe that they can easily make millions,” Olsen wrote. These teens end up believing that there is no point in “buckle[ing] down and finish[ing] high school when self-exploitation is being pushed as a legitimate, safe career?”
As Olsen alluded to, though, these are lies. A former OnlyFans recruiter, who interviewed with the Daily Wire in May, claims that the recruiting process for new creators is deceitful.
In truth, the companies should say, “Hey, do you want to sign up to do porn?” she posited. “We’ll take 20% of your income. You’re probably not going to earn a lot. You’re going to have to do some really extreme things.’”
Telling young women the truth would greatly damage the industry. Ten percent of women ages 18 to 24 are currently producing pornographic content. While young girls see influencers like the newly 18-year-old YouTuber make millions in mere days, they are blinded to reality. Most OnlyFans creators make under $200 per month.
While we know the number of young women involved in OnlyFans, that data excludes underage content creators who are exploited by their feeds and eager recruiters, urging them to follow in the steps of their online idols. If social media sites continue to allow underage girls like the headlining star to consume and generate pornographic content, the statistics will only increase.
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