Steph De Lander has heard all the arguments about wrestlers having OnlyFans accounts. She just doesn’t think those arguments are the real reason people get upset.
During an appearance on Inside the Ring, De Lander was asked about her experience using OnlyFans, which she’s been on for around four years. She called it a major source of passive income and said it’s become an important part of supporting her lifestyle alongside professional wrestling.
“It’s very successful. You know, it is a great avenue. It’s a great way to be able to, you know, have passive income to support your lifestyle or whatever it is that you do. So, yeah, it’s been great for me.”
When the conversation turned to whether she’d helped pioneer the platform among wrestlers, Steph De Lander laughed off the suggestion and instead gave credit to Mandy Rose. De Lander also admitted balancing wrestling, travel and content creation isn’t always easy.
“I mean, yeah, you could say I pioneered it. Uh, no, I didn’t. I don’t consider myself that. You know, I think there’s creators like Mandy Rose who are obviously, you know, very big in the space. I would say she has pioneered that. I’m not on her level as a creator, so I wouldn’t say that I pioneered it, but, you know, timeline-wise, I’ve been in the game for a while, you know. So, as far as that, then, yeah, I was one of the first to start. It’s very hard. Yeah, it’s, you know, you’re… I’m wearing many different hats all the time, and it can be difficult. But, you know, you want to play hard, you have to work hard as well.”
The discussion eventually shifted to the criticism wrestlers often receive for using OnlyFans. De Lander said she doesn’t buy the argument that sexuality somehow doesn’t belong in professional wrestling. In her opinion, that’s never actually been the issue. She then explained why she believes the criticism has become louder in recent years.
“Well, I mean, who’s to say what does and doesn’t belong in the wrestling world? You know, like sexuality has existed in wrestling since, you know, the beginning of time. I think why people get upset about it is because back in the day it was men that were profiting off women’s sexuality, and now women are profiting off their own sexuality, and I think that’s the part that bothers men the most.”
Later in the interview, De Lander was asked whether any wrestling companies had ever had an issue with her running an OnlyFans account. She said WWE has a policy against it, but added that she hasn’t run into those problems elsewhere.
“I haven’t. I mean, obviously at WWE you can’t do OnlyFans, you know, but outside of that world I haven’t had any issues from a company standpoint.”
The former TNA star also argued that the conversation changes when companies understand how much money the platform can generate.
“I mean, I think the reality of that is, like, if we want to have that conversation, then you can have a look at, you know, the numbers that this pulls in and we can talk about that, you know, because that is a huge amount of money to tell someone that they’re not allowed to make, and you would have to match that monetarily. So, I think that is a reason why so many girls are allowed to do it.”
Whether people agree with her or not, De Lander clearly isn’t interested in apologizing for another stream of income. From her perspective, the debate has never really been about wrestling—it has always been about who gets to profit from their own image.
What do you think of Steph De Lander’s comments? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
