A former viral YouTube star says she joined OnlyFans after fans sent her abuse and mass-reported her bikini photos until her Instagram was taken down.
Maddie Joy, from California, was one half of “Maddie and Elijah”, a couples channel that attracted a huge following, mostly young girls.
“I was one of the OG channels,” Maddie told NudeNewz.
“Almost all of my fan base came from that and people still bring it up years later, even though we’ve broken up four years ago.”
But as Maddie got older, she says the audience struggled to accept that she had grown up.
“Anytime I would post a bikini photo on my Instagram, the fans would get really upset with me and report it,” she said.
“Any time I would show any tiny bit of cleavage, I would get death threats and really, really awful comments since I had a young girl audience from the couple channel.”
The backlash eventually became too much.
“Eventually, my Instagram was taken down due to the large amount of reports on my bikini photos,” Maddie said.
Instead of continuing to mould herself around other people’s expectations, Maddie decided to take control of her own image.
“I knew I had to find a platform that I can fully be myself on,” she said.
“I didn’t want to live life and post content only to please other people. I wanted to post content that I wanted to post.”
That is when she discovered OnlyFans.
“That’s when I discovered OnlyFans in 2020,” she said.
“I’ve used it every day since.”
Maddie says the freedom has been life-changing, especially because she knows what it is like to struggle financially.
Before social media paid the bills, she worked while studying dentistry.
“I remember hesitating to get a taco from Taco Bell on the way home from work because it was too expensive,” she said.
“Now I always like to add an extra taco when I’m in the drive thru to treat myself. It’s little things like that.”
Despite her success, Maddie insists she is not flashy.
“I don’t have any fancy cars, name brand luxury items, and I don’t even own a home. I usually just film with them as props,” she said.
“But I do get excited that I can order anything I want in the ‘drive thrus’ now. I’m the least materialistic person you’ll ever meet according to all my friends.”
For her, it is not about showing off, it is about security.
“The two things I care about most in life is happiness and freedom,” Maddie said.
“With money, comes that.”
She says her focus on financial independence is deeply personal.
“I really make sure that I’m financially responsible so that I don’t ever need to rely on anyone else,” she said.
“I definitely want to have the freedom to leave situations I’m uncomfortable in, which is something I didn’t have before.”
Maddie says switching platforms shocked a lot of people.
“Everybody was extremely shocked,” she said.
“The whole internet was shocked because I had the most innocent, good girl persona for so many years.”
She admits the change cost her a big part of the audience she had built.
“I lost a huge chunk of my fan base and audience that I built for 10 years on social media,” she said.
“But I was 17 when I started social media and I’m 27 now. A lot can change in 10 years and I hope that women can relate to growing up and feeling sexy with me.”
Maddie says her inner circle has supported her decision.
“My best friends want me to be happy. My dad wants me to be happy too,” she said.
“The people in my life support me making my own decisions as an adult and don’t look at me any differently, as long as I’m safe.”
And despite her confident online persona, she insists she has not changed as much as people think.
“I’m 100% still the same innocent girl in real life,” Maddie said.
Now, she says her message to other women is simple.
“To be YOURSELF!” she said.
“Don’t live to please others. Get out of the box they try to put you in.”
