Mia Khalifa explains why doing OnlyFans is different to porn after she quit adult movies

Mia Khalifa has opened up on how her venture into OnlyFans is different from her former career in pornography and adult movies, as she pointed out one major contrast when comparing her experiences.

Khalifa, 31, is known by millions throughout the world after she went viral for one particular adult film she starred in, which attracted major controversy, given she had worn a hijab while performing sex acts.

It saw her become an overnight star of the pornographic industry; she has even remained one of the most searched names on PornHub to this day.

But despite having reached the top incredibly quickly, Khalifa only went on to star in a handful of other adult films before quitting porn for good.

Normality wasn’t an option for her, though, with her quickly realising she couldn’t return to her day job.

But instead of sticking with porn, she went down a different route: the social media and influencer game.

And it’s safe to say she’s been pretty successful, boasting more than 26 million followers on Instagram, 4.3 million on Facebook, and 6.2 million over on X.

Using her following, Khalifa has turned that into an incredibly successful career, earning millions through subscription platform OnlyFans.

For those living under a rock (or pretending they don’t know), OnlyFans is an internet content subscription service that has become primarily harnessed by creators selling adult content they have directly made.

Among them is Khalifa, who has reportedly earned up to $6.2m (£4.6m) a month on the platform.

Millions follow Mia Khalifa on social media (YouTube/AnthonyPadilla)

Millions follow Mia Khalifa on social media (YouTube/AnthonyPadilla)

Explaining how it differs to creating pornography and more typical adult content, she said OF allows her to be ‘true to myself and be comfortable with being on it’.

“I don’t do nudity past what I’ve done in a fashion magazine, which is like a see-through shirt or something. So I feel secure, and the audience that I’ve cultivated on that platform knows what they’re in for,” Khalifa told The New York Times.

In comparison, Khalifa said she felt ‘pressured’ in her brief spell in the adult industry, where she was performing for someone else.

Despite this, she still warned younger women against joining the subscription platform at such a young age, especially if ‘easy money’ is their only focus.

Khalifa has warned women about going into the adult industry (TikTok/@officiallouistheroux)

Khalifa has warned women about going into the adult industry (TikTok/@officiallouistheroux)

She said: “I have trouble with making sure that I’m not promoting it as a platform that is an answer to women who are looking for easy money.

“I have a responsibility to not promote it as something that any woman should join unless they’ve already been in the sex-work industry, unless they’re over 25, their frontal cortex is formed, unless they’re coming at it from a place that’s not — I don’t want to use the word ‘desperate’, but from a place of clarity and good intentions.”

Ultimately, Khalifa said that working on OnlyFans comes from a ‘place of agency and bodily autonomy… not from a place of need’.

“I get a lot of backlash from women in the industry,” Khalifa said when speaking out about the dangers of sex work. “I don’t care if another girl is getting mad at me because I’m stigmatising something. It is contradictory of me to be on something and tell other people, no, don’t join.

“But I’m not saying don’t join. I’m saying don’t join so young, don’t join as an answer to all of your problems. Just don’t do something you could regret. The internet is forever.”

Featured Image Credit: Instagram / miakhalifa

Topics: Adult IndustryCelebrityMia KhalifaOnlyFansPornHubUS News

Mia Khalifa explains shocking example of how her previous career still affects her day-to-day life

Mia Khalifa explains shocking example of how her previous career still affects her day-to-day life

The former adult actor revealed that her old career still negatively impacts her in everyday life

Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair

Mia Khalifa has opened up on how her old adult content career continues to affect her everyday life.

The former porn star hasn’t been in the industry for years now, having made less than a dozen adult films. But she still remains as one of the most famous and well-known names in the business.

Ever since quitting pornKhalifa has heavily criticised the adult industry – which she first went into aged 21 – and has warned other young women not to make the same choice.

The former adult star explained that her past still impacts her everyday life (Instagram/@miakhalifa)

The former adult star explained that her past still impacts her everyday life (Instagram/@miakhalifa)

The 31-year-old is now married and makes money from OnlyFans, among other business ventures, but she still regrets making the move to porn a decade ago.

It’s not like Khalifa’s making a fortune off the success of her adult videos, which resulted in her being the most-searched adult actor on PornHub for a couple of years, as she only earned $12,000 (£9,650) from her films in total.

However, it looks like she’s still affected by her past, as she revealed in a past interview that people treat her differently because of it.

Back in 2020, the American sat down with Smosh member Anthony Padilla for his ‘I spent a day with’ series on YouTube, as she candidly answered a number of questions, including how her old career affects her now.

Padilla asked: “How has being in the adult industry, even for such a brief period of time affected your day-to-day life?”

To which she shockingly replied: “People will grab me.”

Shocked, Padilla clarified what she said, as Khalifa explained that it wasn’t even at ‘a bar or club setting’, not that it’s acceptable there, either.

“I’m talking about the grocery store where I just get grabbed and come up to,” she added.

“They think that they own your body because they’ve seen your body,” Padilla pointed out, which she agreed with.

She continued: “They will follow me to my car, they will grab me by my arm. When I tell them no politely, they’ll call me a ***** or a s**t, or anything in the book.

“It’s happened in the most wholesome of places, like waiting to get my passport stamped at Copenhagen Airport.”

Khalifa recalled the time someone yelled at her in Copenhagen Airport after refusing to take a photo (YouTube/AnthonyPadilla)

Khalifa recalled the time someone yelled at her in Copenhagen Airport after refusing to take a photo (YouTube/AnthonyPadilla)

Khalifa further explained: “I’m standing there with my husband and this guy comes up to us. After I politely say no, because I just got off a 15-hour flight, he screamed at me that I was a b***h and a s**t in front of a line of about 45 people.”

Khalifa then added that she and her husband had to stand around awkwardly after the ordeal, trying not to ‘make eye contact with anybody’.

Host Padilla highlighted: “He wanted to get a photo and then he called you derogatory things because you said no.”

She agreed, and said that ‘they can’t handle the word’, after the host pointed out: “They will show you respect unless they feel disrespected,

and a simple no is enough to make them feel disrespected.”

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/AnthonyPadilla

Topics: Adult IndustryMia KhalifaOnlyFansSex and Relationships

Mia Khalifa 'cleared up misconception' after sharing how much money she made during adult star career

Mia Khalifa ‘cleared up misconception’ after sharing how much money she made during adult star career

Khalifa debunked the misconceptions about what it’s like to work in adult entertainment

Lucy Devine

Lucy Devine

Mia Khalifa has opened up about her time in the porn industry.

Khalifa, 31, debunked the misconceptions about what it’s like to work in adult entertainment, explaining that she didn’t make anywhere near as much as what people might have thought.

Mia Khalifa has opened up about her time in the porn industry (Instagram/Mia Khalifa)

Mia Khalifa has opened up about her time in the porn industry (Instagram/Mia Khalifa)

Khalifa has always spoken openly about her experiences since leaving the porn industry.

While she only spent a few months making the content, she quickly became one of the biggest performers around.

However, she’s previously said that looking back, it was ‘one of the biggest’ mistakes she’s ever made.

Writing on Twitter a few years ago, Khalifa spoke about the difficulties she’s faced and the how the assumptions people make about those working in the porn industry aren’t always correct.

A huge part of this is how much she made during those few months.

It might surprise you to know that Khalifa only earned $12,000 (£9,650).

“People think I’m racking in millions from porn. I made a TOTAL of around $12,000 in the industry and never saw a penny again after that,” she said at the time.

“Difficulty finding a normal job after quitting porn was… scary.”

She added: “To clarify, I was never promised ‘millions’, nor do I expect it.

“I’m just clarifying common misconceptions about me, and in turn, about the industry.

“I was involved in porn so briefly, but my actions spread like wildfire, and I continue to be ranked (truly baffles me) 5 years after leaving the industry.

“This is why people think I still perform.”

Khalifa has opened up about her time in the industry (Instagram/@miakhalifa)

Khalifa has opened up about her time in the industry (Instagram/@miakhalifa)

Khalifa has previously said she was ‘pressured’ to get into porn by her ex.

Speaking on Stephen Bartlett’s ‘Diary of a CEO’ podcast last year, Khalifa opened up about her past.

She said: “I got talked into eloping to Las Vegas four days after my 18th birthday.

“I didn’t have a sense of self so I attached myself to someone who was more than happy to abuse that and someone who could see that and see someone easily manipulatable …but at the same time eager to please. It was just the perfect storm… “

She claimed that it was her partner who pressured her into getting into porn, saying he put ‘that whole [porn] world in front of me and encouraged it’.

Khalifa was just 20 when she was handed a card by a porn scout.

And when she showed it to her husband, she says he was very keen on the idea, which she put down to ‘fetishisation’.

“I even feel weird calling it a relationship, because the dynamic was not one of a relationship – it was more one of someone who saw a toy to play with,” she explained.

Featured Image Credit: X/@miakhalifa/Instagram/@miakhalifa

Topics: CelebrityMia KhalifaMoneySex and Relationships

OnlyFans and MAFS star explains why she's quit the adult industry

OnlyFans and MAFS star explains why she’s quit the adult industry

Hayley Vernon starred on Married At First Sight before embarking on an OnlyFans career

Tom Earnshaw

Tom Earnshaw

An OnlyFans star who appeared on reality TV show Married At First Sight in Australia has revealed why she’s quit the adult industry despite raking in a load of profit.

Services like OnlyFans have boomed in popularity since the Covid pandemic years where we were forced to stay inside our homes with not much else to do other than explore what was on the other end of our phones.

For many that meant spicing things up a little, especially in a world where physical dating became a legal no go area in the time of national and regional lockdowns.

The success of the Covid years has sustained, too, with the growth of OnlyFans seeing hundreds of millions spent on adult content every year with the platform having 420 million monthly users to this day.

Ordinary folk have appeared on the platform, using it as a way to secure financial freedom by harnessing what God gave them. But celebs and influencers are also riding the same wave.

One such star was MAFS contestant Hayley Vernon. The Aussie starred in the reality TV show back in 2020.

And since the show, she made headlines after taking to OnlyFans – before sensationally quitting the platform.

Now, Hayley has revealed exactly why she quit OnlyFans, calling the adult industry ‘soul-destroying’.

Hayley Vernon has quite OnlyFans for good (Instagram / hayleyvernon_)

Hayley Vernon has quite OnlyFans for good (Instagram / hayleyvernon_)

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, Hayley said she had gone on a ‘spiritual journey’ that had seen her have a reawakening.

“For me, the spiritual journey started a few years back and I’d say over the past two years I was leaning more into my faith and pulling away from modern spirituality,” she said.

“I realised that doing life my way wasn’t working; the things and the life I had got me what I wanted in regards to material possessions but over time it continued to take away from me at an unseen level. It wasn’t until I started surrendering and getting in my own way that I started to have peace. I know the journey in front of me is guided now with a firm foundation to live my life by.”

Hayley said she would recommend the adult industry ‘for any woman’, adding: “This has been something I have said over the years of doing it when asked on podcasts and by women in my DMs – the glamour is not worth the isolation, the mental anguish and the negativity that follows that life.

Hayley described the adult industry as 'soul destroying' (Instagram / hayleyvernon_)

Hayley described the adult industry as ‘soul destroying’ (Instagram / hayleyvernon_)

“I’m at peace, every aspect of my life has got better, I’ve let go of a lot, I’ve gained even more and I’m learning how to be the woman I was before MAFS, before trying to be someone I wasn’t in the public eye merely to just survive all the bullshit that came with the TV show.”

And three days ago, the former adult star was baptised. Posting to Instagram, she said: “Yesterday I was born again in my faith making a public declaration to the outside world based on the inward transformation I have experienced through finding Christ.”

She added: “There isn’t enough space or even words to explain the transformative goodness of God. Every inch of my life has changed for the better, finding my faith has given me a firmer foundation to live my life on.”

Hayley’s reasoning comes as another OnlyFans star explained why she also wishes she’d never entered the industry. Megan Gaither secretly ran an OF account while working as an English teacher and cheerleading coach before her adult ‘side hustle’ got brought to light.

“A lot of people tell me that I should be happy, but I wouldn’t wish this past year on anybody,” Gaither said.

“I studied 12 years to become a teacher, and now that’s gone. Looking back, I wouldn’t recommend this. If I could go back, I would tell myself not to do it.”

Featured Image Credit: Instagram / hayleyvernon_

Topics: Adult IndustryAustraliaMarried At First SightOnlyFansSex EducationSex and RelationshipsTVMental Health

Former adult star Sasha Grey explains why she decided to leave the porn industry

Former adult star Sasha Grey explains why she decided to leave the porn industry

The 36-year-old explained she was torn between what she preferred doing in front of the camera after scoring movie roles

Olivia Burke

Olivia Burke

She was considered porn’s next biggest thing just six months after entering the industry, got dubbed the ‘next Jenna Jameson’ and had lucrative offers rolling in left and right – but Sasha Grey retired just a few years into her X-rated career.

The former adult actress has worn many hats since leaving that life behind, yet it seems the majority of people just can’t forget her stint in porn which catapulted her to global fame in 2006.

For some reason, people really seemed to dig the teen prodigy asking one of her co-star’s to punch her in the stomach, while they were going at it – as her rogue request resulted in her acquiring an army of fans right after her first flick.

Sasha made her debut as soon as she turned 18 after being keen to explore her ‘fantasies in a safe space’ and ‘different aspects of her sexuality’, while swapping her hometown of Sacramento for Los Angeles.

A year after she made her first film, she was on her way to becoming a major star – winning a string of awards, appearing on The Tyra Banks Show and bagging features in publications such as Playboy.

So you can imagine that a lot of people were left quite shocked when the model – real name Marina Ann Hantzis – announced her retirement in an extremely frank Facebook post in April 2011.

She said it had ‘become quite evident’ that her days of shooting raunchy content were over and done with.

The then-23-year-old wrote: “Don’t worry, I haven’t found Jesus. I’m proud to say I have no regrets, I genuinely feel I accomplished everything I could as a performer.

Sasha Grey explained why she decided to leave the porn industry (YouTube/@realgemswitherin)

Sasha Grey explained why she decided to leave the porn industry (YouTube/@realgemswitherin)

“It was simply the perfect time for me to move on…while I was on top (pun indeed, intended),” she wrote. “Life sometimes takes us in a direction we never could have imagined.”

The world was left reeling by this news, as like Sasha said, she had really hit here stride in porn – but loads of other people wanted a piece of her magic too.

During an appearance on the Real Gems With Erin Ashley Simon podcast, the star said she didn’t make the decision to quit porn ‘overnight’, but it was a thought that had been niggling at her for a while.

She filmed her final raunchy film in 2009 at the age of 21 and decided to concentrate on her other passions; art, modelling and acting instead, seeing her star in Steven Soderbergh’s film The Girlfriend Experience that same year.

Another role in the Canadian low-budget comedy Smash Cut followed, which made Sasha realise she needed to decide what she preferred doing in front of a camera.

She was on track to becoming one of the world's biggest adult stars when she retired (Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Images for LiveXLive)

She was on track to becoming one of the world’s biggest adult stars when she retired (Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Images for LiveXLive)

The 36-year-old explained: “It was a combination of several things that were happening at the same time. I had just finished The Girlfriend Experience, I was doing a lot of press for that, it was like almost a year of non-stop press.

“I’d done another small Canadian film called Smash Cut, I was working on a photography book and I’d started and stopped a company in the span of less than a year.

“I felt like every side, or both sides, wanted me to pick a side and I wasn’t willing to do that,” she said. “I truly wasn’t.

“And it was the end of 2009, so this company I had failed, the economy had crashed the year before and we were all still recovering, we hadn’t even come back yet.

“I saw all these other opportunities around me, I was also making music and it was just natural.”

She explained she didn’t even think it was ‘necessary’ to discuss the matter, hence why she announced her retirement two years after filming her last porno.

The 36-year-old has starred in music videos with the likes of Eminem, The Smashing Pumpkins and The Roots (Vevo)

The 36-year-old has starred in music videos with the likes of Eminem, The Smashing Pumpkins and The Roots (Vevo)

Sasha continued: “I wanted – and was – existing in both worlds, despite what people wanted me to do. People wanted me to take a stance one way or the other and I just didn’t think it was necessary.

“I decided to figure it out on my own time, on my own terms.

“It was definitely difficult because there was a lot of uncertainty – you go from being a big fish in a small pond to navigating this new world and being completely unsure if any of it’s gonna work or not, but just taking it day by day.”

Sasha went on to achieve incredible success after ditching porn – with roles in HBO’s Entourage, 2011 thriller I Melt With You, Shrouded Corpse and Would You Rather.

On top of that, she voiced Viola DeWynter in both Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell and also starred as Eminem‘s love interest in his music video for Space Bound.

But she still appreciates her time in the porn industry and credited it with helping her ‘learn a lot about her self worth’, ‘how to negotiate for herself’ and ‘how to stand up for herself’.

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