Belle Delphine is a media personality, OnlyFans model, certified Egirl, and YouTuber who’s been active online for almost a decade. Over the years, the content creator has developed a very specific brand, one primarily consisting of unique marketing ploys, including being a cosplay queen, and, of course, using bath water for its one true purpose: financial gain.
On Tuesday 20 February 2024, Delphine went on The Louis Theroux Podcast and spilt the tea on how she managed to become the “Queen of the Simps.”
For a quick recap, Belle Delphine, also known as Mary-Belle Kirschner, is a 24-year-old social media personality who began her content career by posting makeup tutorials on YouTube. In 2018, a few years into her career, Delphine began to present as a cosplay E-girl and started posting more provocative and sexual content online.
One of the marketing ploys Delphine is best known for is selling her bath water to all the “thirsty gamer boys” out there for $30 a pop. The sale was a massive success and resulted in widespread media attention for the content creator.
Up until Delphine, no other individual was truly capitalising off of internet subcultures and this form of erotic content—she’s always been incredibly strategic with her publicity stunts. Indeed, during Delphine’s conversation with Theroux, she speaks about the bathwater phenomenon and how she was inspired by the used undergarment vending machines that are available in Japan.
In a 2019 interview with The Guardian, Delphine explained why she thought her online brand was so successful: “I’m lucky. I can do crazy things and get to see the world react to it, and there’s definitely enjoyment in that, even if it’s sometimes a little scary. I get a bigger reaction to my weirder content but I think that’s only possible because I also make risqué content.”
Delphine has never let individuals or companies dissuade her from making the content she wants to. And, despite being banned from multiple platforms such as Instagram and YouTube countless times, the creator’s reach and commercial success is only on the up.
The assurance of platforms such as Patreon and OnlyFans has made it possible for creators such as Delphine to promote their content elsewhere, with greater financial benefits.
For example, Delphine charges $35 per month for a subscription to her OnlyFans account, responds to around 50 to 100 “high tippers” per day, and also manages around 15 sexual conversations simultaneously at any given time. That is one busy girl.
One of the most interesting conversations that takes place during Delphine’s conversation with documentary filmmaker Theroux is how she never predicted that she’d go this far in the adult content industry. It was only through realising the sheer amount of money she could make by posting explicit content that she decided to carry on.
In fact, Delphine revealed that her very first fully pornographic video alone on OnlyFans made her £5 million. The creator also discussed with Theroux how she now makes around £1 million per month through her adult content, and that her income has enabled her to purchase her dream home; an eight-bed, seven-bathroom home in the countryside.
Another interesting aspect of the pair’s conversation revolves around Delphine’s relationship with her father. The creator revealed that her father had no prior knowledge of the adult content she had created and only found out during a trip visiting her in South Africa in 2019.
As he grew suspicious of how she was able to afford her first house, it prompted him to Google his daughter’s name and discover her Belle Delphine persona. Sadly, the creator’s father responded furiously and Delphine revealed that the two haven’t had a relationship since.
As is the unfortunate reality with so many influencers and content creators online, Delphine also spoke at length about how her success and presence online have led to some very dark and dangerous experiences. In one instance, a post insinuating that she had been murdered garnered thousands of likes by anonymous netizens.
Furthermore, Delphine has also experienced being doxxed—wherein your personal information is leaked without your consent, not dissimilar to a social media witch hunt. The creator’s address was posted on the online message board 4chan, a platform popular among the alt-right, leading a stalker to turn up at her house and forcing her and her mother to move shortly after.
Moving forward, Delphine revealed to Theroux that there’s a part of her that wishes that she could “delete everything” and be “killed from the internet.” The creator tailed off the conversation stating that she’s quite fond of chapters and wishes that she could simply close this one.