Bella Thorne’s OnlyFans is Research for a Movie with Director Sean Baker

Bella Thorne is the latest celebrity to break the internet, but she’s also raking in millions at the same time. The former Disney Channel actress joined OnlyFans just last week, but she’s already crashed the site and earned $1 million within 24 hours of activating her account. Turns out the gig wasn’t just for money, though. Thorne revealed that she joined the app, which houses a variety of content but specializes in adult videos and photos that are too explicit for platforms like Instagram or Twitter, as research for work.

In an interview with the LA Times yesterday, Thorne explained that she created her OnlyFans account in preparation for a film she’s creating with director Sean Baker. “It’s a feature we are researching as I’m living it currently,” she shared. “What are the ins and outs? What does a platform like this do to its users? What’s the connective material between your life and your life inside the world of OnlyFans?”

“How can it change your life for the worse and the better? How far are you willing to go, and how far do you WANT to go?,” she continued. “You can be me, or this talented girl from Montana, and OnlyFans could change your life — if you want it to, of course.” Aside from research for her upcoming role, Thorne, who charges $20 per month for access to her feed, plans to use the millions she’s made off her platform to invest in her production company and donate to charity.

So far, Thorne’s OnlyFans page doesn’t include anything too explicit. There’s a few bikini shots and some footage of the actress eating a hot dog, but she also had plans to offer some PG content, like painting classes or baking tutorials. While she’s keeping it relatively tame on OnlyFans, the app isn’t Thorne’s first foray into the X-rated film world. Last year, she directed the award-winning Pornhub film, Her and Him.

In his review of the film, Decider’s Charles Bromesco praised Thorne for her creativity. “She has an eye and she has ideas, and she’s learning how to express them at an angle through the mediating influence of narrative (as opposed to the directness of her unlocked-diary writing, or the bluntness of her songcraft),” he wrote. “She’s growing into an identity as a true multimedia artist, all the more captivating for her intimate imperfections.”

While Thorne didn’t share much about her upcoming OnlyFans project, we do know that the film is in its early stages and that she’s set to star. And if she’s working with Baker, the creative force behind indies like The Florida Project and Tangerine, it’s likely she could have an award-winning hit in the works.