LOS ANGELES — Bella French, ManyVids’ CEO and co-founder, recently discovered that a fraudulent account on the adult platform OnlyFans was posting and selling pirated copies of her explicit videos and photographs against her knowledge or consent.
The account has been active since December 2016 and allegedly was selling her content under a fake name, a scenario that is all too familiar for many adult performers.
French only recently became aware of the fraudulent account that was profiting from her content when a fan informed her of the fact. A former cam girl herself, French has an extensive library of content accessible to her fans worldwide and exclusively on MayVids.com.
OnlyFans eventually disabled the postings after intense pressure from French, she said.
“Pirated content is rampant in the adult industry,” French said. “It is so commonplace that it has bred complacency. There is reluctance to demonstrate a sense of urgency or proactiveness in these situations to protect the content creators. If it can happen to me, how many others have also experienced this type of frustration?”
“To say I am disappointed with OnlyFans response is an understatement,” she said. “I am frustrated by OnlyFans reaction and their unwillingness to cooperate for many days.
“I will not stay silent, this is about injustice and content creators like myself being ignored. Business owners in the adult community have a responsibility to set up processes to address the issue as proactively and respectfully as possible.
“I call upon our community in the adult space, OnlyFans included, to collaborate and introduce protocols that will serve to protect the performers and not the criminals that are profiting from them.”
