OnlyFans users thought they were messaging models, but it wasn’t true, lawsuit says
Two men in Illinois are suing OnlyFans after they say they were misled into believing they were messaging content creators, but they were really communicating with someone else.
The lawsuit filed March 26 lists Fenix International Limited, which owns and operates OnlyFans, and its subsidiary Fenix Internet as defendants.
The defendants did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on April 2.
OnlyFans is a social platform that allows users to subscribe to creators’ accounts and access exclusive content. The platform has over 300 million users and has paid roughly $4.3 billion dollars to creators, the lawsuit said.
According to a civil complaint, OnlyFans users are able to communicate with content creators, also referred to as models, through “direct messages and pay-per-view messages.”
“OnlyFans tells Fans that by adding a monetary tip to a direct message, their message will appear at the top of the Creator’s inbox, and Creators often invite Fans to send a tip with a message in order to get a faster reply from the Creator,” the lawsuit said.
The site advertises that users can create “genuine” and “direct” connections on the platform and says it offers “authentic relationships” through “direct communications,” the lawsuit said.
However, the two men who filed the lawsuit said they were led to believe they were directly communicating with the creators when, in fact, it was someone else.
The lawsuit said some creators participate in “chatter scams” where management agencies are hired to help creators gain more fans “while ensuring the Creators have no real role in the communications with their Fans.”
“Working in partnership with their Creators, agencies contract with chatters to conduct most, if not all, of the communications between the Creators and the Fans. Without the Fans knowledge, the chatters impersonate the Creators when direct messaging with Fans,” the lawsuit said.
In some cases, the “chatters” are given scripts to use when communicating with fans, according to the lawsuit.
Companies have developed “specialized tools” allowing multiple people to operate OnlyFans accounts, the lawsuit said. This includes teams of chatters.
One of the men who filed the lawsuit created his account in 2021 in order to communicate with creators. He paid $10.99 a month to subscribe to an account, the lawsuit said.
Between January and October 2024, the man exchanged direct messages with the account daily and paid to unlock three to five pictures or audio messages a day, the lawsuit said.
However, it was a third-party agency that he was communicating with, according to the complaint.
The other man who filed the lawsuit created his account in 2023 “to engage in friendly conversations with models and share photographs of his cooking creations,” the lawsuit said.
He paid extra fees to access content on several creators’ accounts, paid monthly to exchange messages and sent tips, the lawsuit said.
However, those accounts were being run by a social media management agency that focuses on creators for adult content, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit said the men were misled and deceived and “did not receive the benefit of their bargain.” It said they would not have paid what they did for the content and access if they knew they were communicating with “third party impostors.”
The men are asking for an undetermined amount in damages.
