OnlyFans Stops Serving Russian Creators

OnlyFans will no longer serve Russian creators on its platform, the company confirmed on Thursday.

The platform, popularized by sex workers and primarily used by adult content creators, said it can “no longer properly serve our Russian creator community,” due to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. OnlyFans told Motherboard the following in a statement: 

“OnlyFans is a creator first business. Over the past few months we have explored several options to continue providing our services to creators impacted by the Russia / Ukraine war. However due to a further tightening of payment restrictions to and from Russia, OnlyFans can no longer properly serve our Russian creator community. As a result, we are taking steps to temporarily pause accounts where payments are received in Russia. We have asked impacted creators to contact support@onlyfans.com who can help address any queries regarding their accounts." 

In February, as Russia’s invasion into Ukraine began, OnlyFans blocked creators based in Russia from accessing the platform. As reported by Rolling Stone, creators received a message from OnlyFans support that said, “Please be informed that your country is not supported for payouts, therefore we are unable to assist you regarding that matter at this time.” 

But shortly after these messages went out, OnlyFans said it resolved the issue.

“After experiencing financial restrictions we have been able to restore account activity for creators in all countries. Their accounts will have full functionalities as long as we continue to have payment methods to support them,” a spokesperson for OnlyFans told VICE in early March. “We were not terminating or suspending any creator accounts based on the creator’s location, and we are doing everything we can to support our community.”

Now, OnlyFans has changed course again, stating that it cannot provide a platform for its Russia-based content creators.

Bisexcouplefamilyfree, one of the Russian content creators using Pornhub and OnlyFans to protest the war, first brought this change to Motherboard’s attention. “We can't work for OnlyFans now,” they told me. “We have been working on this platform for a year, and now we have to start all over again. It is a pity that all Russians are now perceived as enemies. But not everyone supports the war. And many continue to express their position, despite the fact that it is dangerous in Russia.”