An investigation into the management agencies that work with women creating content on the platform OnlyFans has uncovered a pattern of steep fees and coercive treatment. The findings centre on the people who position themselves as managers for these creators, and on how much control they end up exerting over the women and their earnings.
According to the investigation, the vast majority of the women who spoke about their experiences had managers taking very high commissions from them. The figures cited ranged from 50 percent to as much as 70 percent of what the creators made, leaving them with only a fraction of the income generated by their own work.
Beyond the financial cut, the investigation heard accounts of behaviour that went well past ordinary business arrangements. There was evidence of controlling behaviour, threats and blackmail, and in some cases even violence directed at the women, with one creator describing the kind of treatment she had been subjected to.
OnlyFans was contacted about the findings and responded that it takes user safety incredibly seriously and invests in measures to keep its community safe. The platform said it does not endorse these management agencies, investigates reports of wrongdoing, and works with law enforcement where appropriate to support investigations.
The company added that any bad actors should be reported to OnlyFans and, where necessary, to the police, so that appropriate action can be taken and the wider community protected. That response framed the issue as one of individual wrongdoers rather than a problem rooted in the platform itself.
The investigation also went inside one of the world's biggest group chats used by OnlyFans managers, which had around 20,000 members and some 300,000 messages to draw from. Predominantly made up of young men from around the world, the chat featured tips on how to control creators' accounts and have their money forwarded on, with content ranging from exploitation to blackmail that matched what the women themselves had described.