Holly & Jimmy Released Their Final Statement Addressing The OnlyFans Controversy
It’s been a big week for The Bachelor’s Holly Kingston and Jimmy Nicholson. At the beginning of last week, these two crazy kids were plucked out of obscurity (as just another influencer couple on our Instagram feeds) when they decided to share their thoughts on OnlyFans.
And thoughts they did share! Why? We’re still not sure. Apparently the couple had been asked to join OnlyFans repeatedly over the years, so in an attempt to clarify that they definitely did not plan on signing up to the subscription platform, the couple decided to offer a lesson in, umm… empowerment.
“My problem with it is people saying they’re doing it because it’s female empowerment or male empowerment, I think that’s a load of sh*t personally,” Jimmy said. “If you want to celebrate male or female empowerment, start a charity, donate to breast cancer awareness, prostate cancer awareness, do these things.”
The response to such a tone-deaf take was swift, with women, OnlyFans creators and those who work in the sex industry taking issue with Jimmy — a famous man who owns a $1.42 million home in North Bondi — thinking he has the right to define and gatekeep empowerment.
The most vocal of all these people was former The Bachelor contestant, and all-round mic-dropper: Abbie Chatfield.
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The reality TV star took issue with Holly and Jimmy judging OnlyFans creators for selling subscriptions while the couple themselves, often sell products on their Instagram accounts. “I think promoting skincare and things that you ingest and you have to trial out, that is literally using your body to sell a product, which I see nothing wrong with,” Abbie said in an Instagram Story. “But you’re seeing an issue with OnlyFans in leveraging notoriety, but – aren’t you doing the same?”
Abbie also addressed Jimmy’s claims that being an OnlyFans creator and charity worker were mutually exclusive. “The way that it was presented was as though charitable acts is the antithesis of sex work,” she said.
The I’m A Celebrity winner also DM’d the couple and revealed she received a phone call from Jimmy, where he labelled her “aggressive,” and scolded her like she imagined a father would. “Jokes on you because I’ve never had a dad so like, I don’t react to that kind of stuff,” Abbie joked.
In response to the fallout, Holly and Jimmy have now released a joint statement.
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The statement was mostly in response to the abuse the couple claimed they have suffered after making their public statement. “We have since been subjected to abusive messages, character assassinations, cancellation attempts, death threats and a gross invasion of the basic human right to feel safe in our own home,” they wrote.
The rest of the statement was focused on the response to their comments, avoiding taking much responsibility for the initial comments themselves. “We are not against OnlyFans, we are against a toxic trend that says it is OK to bully or ‘cancel’ people you disagree with.”
While no one deserves to feel unsafe or threatened, this statement’s emphasis on how the reaction has made the couple feel does little to engage or empathise with how OnlyFans creators and sex workers would have felt after being shamed by the two reality stars.
The Instagram post has been largely flooded with positive comments, with a handful a reality stars showing their support. Married at First Sight’s Jules Robinson commented, “Love you both.” Helena Sauzier from The Bachelor wrote, “You two are amazing and this is so beautifully said. Never apologise to bullies, especially those masked as ‘influencers’. It’s so sad that these horrific attacks on people are being normalised. Sending so much love.”
Chelsie McLeod from the same season added, “Hope you are ok.”
However, not all the of reactions have been positive.
Instagram account So Dramatic! also shared their statement and the response was quite different. “Accountability? Or deflection?” one user wrote. I’m A Celebrity’s Yvie Jones wrote “‘We’re the real victims here’ [eyeroll emoji] ‘also we’re allowed to judge people so please stop judging us for it’,” she joked.
Another added, “Shame all that money on private schooling still couldn’t teach them to think critically or reflect on the damaging implications of their words.” My personal favourite comment was one Instagram poster writing, “Can Abbie please respond drunk eating Maccas in her Logies dress.”
Your turn, Abbie.
OnlyFans has been rising in popularity in recent years, especially among reality stars. Former Married at First Sight contestants Jessika Power, Ines Basic, and 2022 couple Olivia Frazer and Jackson Lonie all have accounts that appear to be making sizeable incomes.