Content creation is one of the most cutthroat industries out there. If you don’t stay on top of your game and find ways to remain relevant, your social status (and financial capital) will plummet. Recently, we’ve witnessed OnlyFans stars such as Bonnie Blue and Lily Phillips going to extreme lengths to ensure audiences stay tuned. The thing is, Phillips’ latest public stunt—allowing a popular YouTuber to document her attempt to sleep with 100 men in one day—has prompted an incredibly serious discussion regarding her wellbeing. And while that’s a point I believe deserves debate, the conversation I’m more interested in is one that is encouraging netizens to question whether their concern for Phillips, in reality, has a lot more to do with their issue with the sex work industry.

Over the past few months, hundreds of people on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) discussed sex work at great length. There have been debates over whether or not it is inherently unfeminist and many conversations about the profession’s insane financial benefits. And yet although a smidgen of the discourse was genuine, the majority of comments have naturally ended up shaming and degrading the young women at the front of this field.

 

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Now Phillips, 23, has skyrocketed to fame as one of the most popular OnlyFans models out there, employing similar rage bait tactics as Blue to build an incredibly engaged social following. Phillips’ recent challenge to have sex with 100 men in one day, a marathon event that was documented by YouTuber Josh Pieters and has now been viewed over 4.7 million times, has sparked a moral panic online. For accuracy, it also actually ended up being 101 men.

But while the comments section might initially look like a cohort of worried and concerned supporters, the sole attention on one specific clip in the documentary has resulted in a mass reaction which seems to be lacking a lot of nuance. And now, with Phillips having just announced plans to have sex with 1,000 men in one day, this discussion deserves our attention more than ever.

I was a little late to the Josh Pieters documentary, only watching it in full a few days after it was shared. Online, it saw an overwhelming wave of negativity from viewers.  Many argued that Lily Phillips’ stunt is not representative of female sexual empowerment, with some users going as far as to claim that it felt as though they had watched a young woman be sex trafficked.

@templeofthefeminine

Have you seen it? What are your thoughts? #lillyphillips #fyp #femalempowerment #womensempowerment

♬ original sound - Templeofthefeminine

@lbc

Rachel Johnson reacts to adult model, Lily Phillips, sleeping with 100 men in a single day. #racheljohnson #joshpieters #documetary #lilyphillips #news #uknews #lbc

♬ original sound - LBC

One specific clip that people really clung to from the documentary was at the very end when Pieters interviewed Phillips after the challenge had ended. The OnlyFans star looked visibly shattered and sometimes got increasingly emotional discussing certain aspects of the day. Particularly, Phillips seemed to be very upset at the thought that some of the men that day may not have been fully satisfied with the experience.

@sensiafee

Doku #viral_video #fyp #lilyphillips #men #1000 #girl #fürdich #viralditiktok #100 #lily #o #f #por #youn #viralvideos #trauma #foru #f #lillyphillips

♬ Originalton - Sensiafee

There was a very real and visceral reaction to this moment in the comments section. One user wrote: “This is quite honestly the most disturbing and unsettling thing I’ve watched in a long time. Her crying at the end was soul destroying. I literally have no words.” Another commented: “The ending just shows the reality of this. Her mental health is shattered. So sad to see, horrible. And those people who work with her are sick too.”

There were some moments in the video that made me feel uneasy. At one point, Pieters notes how Phillips’ security team were sent out to get her “snacks and electrolytes” to keep her “functioning.” And earlier in the documentary, we watch Phillips look surprised to learn that HIV can be transmitted via oral sex. I mean, to say that the organisation and execution of the day was in shambles would be an understatement.

Of course, it’s hard to watch the documentary and not feel concerned for Phillips—worry that she might be struggling and needs support.

i watched the lily phillips doc (girl who slept w 100 guys in a day) & the doc ended w her breaking down into tears bc she felt she didnt please them enough. i think her sadness is subconsciously misdirected, she’s crying bc she realised she made a mistake. i hope she’ll be okay

— ‏ً (@BALUCIAGA) December 11, 2024

lily phillips makes many self-deprecating remarks throughout the documentary, but this one was especially bleak.

she implies that no sane man will ever love her or want to commit to her.

instead, whoever marries her will be “one poor bastard,” and he might as well pimp her out… pic.twitter.com/YBDXiohu9f

— mary morgan (@maryarchived) December 11, 2024

@iamcherenya

This is a trauma response and even if Lily does continue doing this work her mind and body will never forget the overload of the original event (100 men) that has caused the trauma - the impact of trauma always continues to manifest until it’s cleared - this is the work I do with my clients and it doesn’t take months of therapy, clearing the impact of trauma can take as little as 60 mins, so if you have been impacted by a traumatic experience and you’re ready to be free of the emotional turmoil, you know where I am ❤️🦋 #traumatok

♬ original sound - Visualize with Cher

That being said, infantilising women in the sex work industry is something I’d urge us all to steer away from. Jessie Sage, a writer and sex worker, wrote an opinion piece on the documentary for Rolling Stone and offered insight that several  netizens would benefit from hearing. “Sex workers often talk about the fact that one of the hardest things about the job is that we have to constantly perform happiness and fulfilment, lest we be judged harshly for our choices.”

“When anti-porn feminists and conservative Christians are both chomping at the bit to shut our industry down, we are loath to be honest when we have a bad day on the job, fearing that this information will be used as ammunition,” Sage continues.

And yes, it’s important to note that there were multiple times throughout the documentary where Phillips expresses how happy her work makes her and how the challenge she’s about to undertake is a fantasy of hers.

Two things can exist at once. Phillips is only 23 and it’s evident that there was not enough safeguarding or preparation in place before she undertook this challenge—that, we can all agree on. However, as noted by Jezebel writer Jackie Jennings, this entire ordeal says a lot more about the content mill than it does the sex work industry. Jennings believes Phillips is a “victim of the content economy,” and I’d have to agree with her on that.

All of these arguments have merit and they all deserve our attention. But the biggest takeaway from this is that degrading and dehumanising Phillips for her decisions or actions is in no way, shape, or form going to better society or create a more safe environment. Sex workers deserve respect, and if anyone should be leading the conversation regarding this topic, it’s them, not us.