We’ve seen plenty of child stars go from PG-rated to seriously not safe for work in the space of a few decades.
Disney and Nickelodeon stars who began their acting careers in shows aimed at kids and teens later grew up, and with the rise of adult subscription sites and the adult film industry itself, found it easier than ever to find a niche in porn.
Bella Thorne caused quite the stir with sex workers when she became one of the first celebs to sign up to OnlyFans, while stars like Wizards of Waverly Place actor Dan Benson soon followed in her footsteps. Stars took the decision to craft and own their own content rather than posing for raunchy magazines like Playboy.
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Disney Channel has been on air for more than 40 years now, with Nickelodeon launching five years before too. But as Daily Star discovers, some of the actors would never be allowed anywhere near the kid-friendly content now.
Bella Thorne
Known for starring in Disney’s Shake It Up, Bella Thorne decided to sign up to OnlyFans in 2020, after releasing raunchy songs like Stupid F***ing B*tch and P***y Mine. She scooped an eye-watering $1million in just 24 hours – but her fellow sex workers were left fuming.
They branded Bella “problematic” because she seemed to be signing up purely for fun and didn’t acknowledge the stigma involved in the trade. She was also accused of scamming by offering a “nude” pay-per-view snap to fans for $200 each – but it later turned out she was not naked in the photo.
Bella later apologised, explaining: “Remove the stigma behind sex, sex work, and the negativity that surrounds the word sex itself by bringing a mainstream face to it that’s what I was trying to do… I have risked my career a few times to remove the stigma behind sex work, porn, and the natural hatred people spew behind anything sex-related.
“I am a mainstream face and when you have a voice, a platform, you try to use you in helping others and advocate for something bigger than yourself. Again in this process I hurt you and for that I’m truly sorry.”
Dan Benson
Wizards of Waverly Place star Dan Benson might not be gay – but he’s keen on playing up his fetish work to gay subscribers on OnlyFans. Since starring alongside Selena Gomez in the hit series, Dan decided to up the raunch in his career.
He explained: “I am straight. I’m very comfortable making content for gay men. I specifically make content for gay men. There’s a huge stigma that if you have anything to do with experiencing orgasm through your butt, you’re gay. But that’s absolutely not true.”
But he refuses to have sex with men on camera because he’s “not comfortable” doing it. He said: “I don’t want to look back in 10 years and go, ‘OK, I made all this money, I got all this fame because of this, but god damn it, I was doing all these things that made me feel uncomfortable just for that’.”
Madisyn Shipman
Ex-Nickelodeon star Madisyn Shipman, who shot to fame in Game Shakers, went on to join Playboy’s adult content site. After years of being forced to “repress” her sexuality, Madisyn explained: “The great thing about the Playboy platform is that they let creators decide how they want to express themselves and their sexuality. For me personally, the raciest my content ever gets is a photo in lingerie or a bikini.
“I refuse to feel ashamed for embracing my body! It’s frustrating that people assume the only reason I’m successful is because I must be showing everything.”
She confessed that getting fetish requests were a “shock to the system”, adding: “I’ve always had a feeling of repression in relation to my body and my sexuality, so, in all honesty, joining Playboy had never even crossed my mind.
“One of my girlfriends from another Nickelodeon show started working for Playboy and invited me to a basketball game that Playboy was hosting out of the blue. I thought ‘what the hell, I’m going to go and have fun.’ So I went and the rest is history! I absolutely love working with Playboy and I’m so grateful for all the wonderful relationships I’ve created.”
Dustin Diamond
Cast as Samuel “Screech” Powers in Saved by the Bell in 1988, Dustin Diamond even made it into the spin-off movies of the early 90s to reprise his role. But by 2001, he’d filed for bankruptcy in California, begging fans to buy T-shirts in order to save his home.
Though he took part in various comedy and game shows over the years, Dustin eventually leaked his own sex tape – Screeched: Saved by the Smell – in 2006. It was only years later that he confessed to using a stunt double in the actual sex scenes – instead of using his real penis, a “stunt wang” was used in its place.
Dustin claimed to have slept with 2,000 women behind the scenes of the show, but later admitted that the claims were exaggerated or entirely fabricated. After serving time behind bars, Dustin sadly died in February 2021 at the age of 44, after battling cancer.
Maitland Ward
When Hollywood told Boy Meets World actress Maitland Ward that she couldn’t be sexy, she refused to listen. A career in Disney couldn’t deter her either, and eventually she launched herself fully into the world of adult films.
Maitland told Daily Star: “I had been told for so long by Hollywood producers, directors, managers and publicists that I couldn’t be sexy, I couldn’t do the kind of roles I wanted to do. That nobody would want to see me like that, nobody would pay for me doing anything sexy.
“That got into my psyche and that’s why I didn’t think I could make anything on content. Then all of a sudden it exploded.”
She started out doing sexy cosplays, but it soon morphed into selling racy pics – and by the end of her first week on Patreon, Maitland was the “number one adult creator”. She’s worth around $2million after making her way into the porn industry.
Scott Schwartz
Best known for starring as Flick in A Christmas Story, Scott Schwartz went on to have a very different role in future after initially making his name as the boy who got his tongue stuck to a pole in the innocent festive flick.
The 55-year-old went on to perform “non-sexual” roles in adult films, as well as managing various porn actors. He went on to run a collectibles store with his dad, admitting he starred in films like Booby Trap and Scotty’s X-Rated Adventures due to financial difficulties.
He explained: “At the time, financially, I wasn’t doing very well. Royalties from movies don’t pay a lot. It was something I looked at as off-the-norm for someone of my background. But rather than buy some coke and do eighty down Sunset with a sign that said ‘Arrest me,’ I decided to take that path.”
Jaimee Foxworth
When she landed her first modelling gig at the age of five, it seemed only natural that Jaimee Foxworth would later transition into acting. She starred as Judy Winslow in hit sitcom Family Matters – but after three seasons she was let go.
She fell on hard times financially, and was forced to turn to the world of adult films to fund herself and her family, spiralling into alcohol and drug addiction. She told Oprah Winfrey that it all started with a swimsuit calendar, before Jaimee agreed to “an explicit sex scene with another actress”.
She said: “It was, to me, the quickest money. I was so naïve, and I was drinking. I’d never lived a normal childhood. I always went to auditions… When I was on Family Matters, I thought the money was never going to stop. I thought I was never going to be broke. So I say to young girls, always have another option.”
Franek Skywalker
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Though he made his name originally on the Polish version of Disney Channel, Franek Skywalker – real name Marcin Turksi – decided to join the likes of Dan Benson and head for OnlyFans. He starred in the Polish version of As the Bell Rings, which starred Demi Lovato in the US.
But when the show was cancelled, he decided to pursue a career in modelling, sharing his gym photos over the years. He started OnlyFans “as a joke” during the first Covid-19 lockdown, but fans loved it so much he decided to continue.
Franek told Observatório dos Famosos: “I saw a lot of memes and TikToks about OnlyFans and posted – as a joke – a ‘Should I start my OnlyFans?’ poll. And the reaction was huge… I got a lot of attention, right after I started. And I feel like it was a great decision.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk