Did you refer a content creator to the OnlyFans platform before May 2020? OnlyFans may have unlawfully capped your payments, breaching its contract. Fill out the form for more information »
WHAT’S THE ISSUE?
Hagens Berman has filed a class-action lawsuit against the owner and operator of OnlyFans, Fenix, for allegedly withholding significant payments to participants of its platform who recruited new OnlyFans content creators. Through its referral program, Fenix offered referring users commissions of 5% of the income of any new content creator who joined the platform. This commission system promised payments to referrers for life, meaning referring users would continue to receive monthly payments of generated gross income in perpetuity. In 2020, “Fenix got greedy,” according to the lawsuit, placing new caps and abruptly curtailing the amount of payments and the terms which allowed referring users to continue to collect commission, per Fenix’s terms, in violation of its own contract. Attorneys believe these changes unlawfully withheld hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to referring users, under breach of contract law.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM AN AFFECTED ONLYFANS REFERRING USER?
According to attorneys, those affected include OnlyFans referral program participants who are:
- located in the United States, and
- referred at least one OnlyFans creator before May 1, 2020, and
- the referred creator also earned income on OnlyFans at any time after May 1, 2021.
OnlyFans has grown to become a multibillion-dollar platform, and attorneys believe that referring users may have lost significant amounts due to Fenix’s alleged breach of contract. One of the lawsuit’s named plaintiffs referred more than 4,500 OnlyFans creators, “steadily growing their referral income into thousands of dollars per month.”
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HOW DID FENIX PROMOTE THE ONLYFANS REFERRAL SYSTEM?
From inception, Fenix and its affiliates prominently advertised the referral program on the OnlyFans website and social media accounts. The promise was crystal clear: Referring Users would “earn 5% on all income, from any user who joins via [their] link” for “LIFETIME.” This was not a “one off [sic] payment,” but rather a commission on “every user … every payment [received by a Referred Creator] … [paid] every month … [for] LIFETIME.”
Fenix’s revenue earned from the United States more than doubled from 2020 to 2021 from $261 million to $648 million. OnlyFans grew rapidly from only 13 million subscribers in 2019 to 188 million in 2021. OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely credited the Referral Program for this enormous growth.
Fenix promoted this program on its “Partners” page of its website: “Are you a webmaster, entrepreneur or social influencer with a high following? Then why not turn those followers into money in the bank, with our new referral program. You receive 5% commission (LIFETIME) on [sic] all income earned by users who join via your link. So join for free, post your referral link to your followers and then sit back, relax and watch your earnings grow!”
Under the OnlyFans referral agreement, the commission payment came from the 20% fee of creators’ income withheld already by Fenix, making it bear the entire cost. OnlyFans creators’ net income was not affected by the 5% referral portion already withheld by Fenix.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ONLYFANS CONTENT CREATOR REFERRAL PROGRAM?
According to the lawsuit, “Fenix got greedy”:
- On May 1, 2020, Fenix abruptly announced that it would no longer pay lifetime commissions on referred creators’ gross revenues. Instead, referring users would only be paid referral commissions for the first 12 months of each new referred creator.
- It capped referral payments at $50,000 per referred creator, meaning it would no longer be 5% of “all income,” as promised, harming not just those who refer popular creators but those who refer long-term creators as well.
- Fenix sought to backdate these changes and apply its new terms to creators already referred to OnlyFans and active on the platform prior to the May 1, 2020, announcement. Fenix would only pay referral commissions to referring users for previously referred creators until May 1, 2021.
HOW CAN A CLASS ACTION HELP ONLYFANS REFERRING USERS?
Hagens Berman has taken on Big Tech companies to protect the rights of individuals. Taking legal action ensures that companies will be held accountable for violating the rights of class members, which can include consumers and others. Under this class-action lawsuit, Hagens Berman seeks to recover losses suffered by the proposed class, enforcing the contract that referring users – and Fenix – agreed to.
TOP CLASS ACTION LAW FIRM
Hagens Berman is one of the most successful litigation law firms in the U.S. and has achieved settlements valued at more than $345 billion for individuals represented in lawsuits against tech companies and other large corporations since its founding. While some of these companies believe they are too big to fail, our firm is well-practiced in uncovering violations of the law and holding responsible parties accountable. Your claim will be handled by experts in the area of complex, large-scale litigation.
NO COST TO YOU
Class members will never be asked to pay any out-of-pocket sum. If Hagens Berman or any other firm obtains a settlement providing benefits to class members, the court will determine a reasonable fee to be awarded to the class’s legal team.
