Banks often reject OnlyFans creators as customers. Then it happened to OnlyFans’ CEO

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Tennis champion Serena Williams launches her own line of beauty products, LSU basketball star Angel Reese declares for the WNBA draft, and OnlyFans' CEO learned from experiencing some of the same stigma as her platform's creators. Have a thoughtful Thursday.

- Smashing stigma. Keily Blair went from London-based partner of an elite law firm specializing in cyber, privacy, and security to an executive at her former client: OnlyFans. After becoming CEO of the tech platform known for adult content in mid-2023, she noticed a few differences in reactions when she was introduced by her job title.

The most jarring was when a bank rejected her as a customer because of her association with OnlyFans—as often happens for adult content creators who post on OnlyFans. Risk-averse financial institutions, fearful of facilitating financial transactions for illegal sex work or crimes like sex trafficking, often turned down even those who tangentially touch the sex and adult content industry, leaving them without access to basic financial tools like bank accounts and credit cards. Blair's banking incident was first reported in an interview with the Financial Times, and I caught up with Blair about it when we participated in a panel together at SXSW last month.

"You get a huge amount of empathy from your life—that this is a real thing," Blair told me (she declines to name which bank it was). OnlyFans, the platform, has had its own banking challenges and came close to banning adult content in 2021. "Financial inclusion should be top of the agenda for everybody. It really brings it home."

Blair's predecessor as CEO, Amrapali Gan (whom I profiled in 2023), went on a media blitz with the goal of destigmatizing OnlyFans—making clear the platform welcomed adult creators and could be used for suitable-for-work content, from sports fan engagement to cooking shows. Blair has continued that mission, sponsoring athletes in racing and wrestling and even licensing a show from OnlyFans' suitable-for-work content platform OFTV to Netflix. House of Sims follows a U.K.-based family of reality stars.

But adult content still drives much of OnlyFans $1 billion in annual revenue; the company took a 20% cut of the $5.5 billion users spent on the platform in 2022. Some of its most successful creators rake in millions, yet still encounter stigma.

"I knew I was leaving what was a very professional background," Blair says of her decision to trade Big Law for OnlyFans. "I was ready for a negative reaction. But part of my job is to change that—and that's why I'm excited. Being the CEO of OnlyFans—it gives you the opportunity to have those conversations."

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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