When Power Wears a G-String: A Response to Lucy Mangan’s Review of 1000 Men and Me

By Lila Monroe | Staff Writer, Only Fans Insider Magazine

I’ve always admired Lucy Mangan’s writing—her voice is precise, piercing, and rarely without purpose. So when I read her recent Guardian review of 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story, I prepared myself for sharp observation wrapped in dry wit. What I didn’t expect was the knot of unease I felt when I reached the end.

Because Lucy gets so much right. But also—she misses the bigger picture.

The story of Bonnie Blue (aka Tia Billinger), a porn star turned digital tycoon who set out to sleep with 1,000 men in 12 hours (and actually hit 1,057), isn’t just a tale of sex, ambition, or shock marketing. It’s the mirror we refuse to look into. And that mirror doesn’t just reflect Bonnie.

It reflects platforms like OnlyFans and Fansly. It reflects mainstream media. It reflects all of us.

Bonnie Isn’t the Problem. She’s the Product.

Let’s get something out of the way: Bonnie Blue is a marketing machine. She understands the clickbait economy better than most newsroom editors. She’s polarizing by design. Her approach to sex work is unflinching and unapologetic—and yes, intentionally provocative.

But the real question isn’t, Why did she do this?

It’s: Why did we make a system where this works?

Platforms like OnlyFans and Fansly have built empires on blurred lines and unregulated ambition. They rake in billions by giving creators "freedom" without structure. Creators must self-promote, self-produce, self-protect—and self-destruct, if that’s what it takes to be seen.

There’s no HR department, no wellness infrastructure, no PR team. Just algorithms. Which means that creators like Bonnie often have one path to growth: out-shock the last headline. Be more. Risk more. Reveal more. And still, fight to be taken seriously.

And what does the mainstream media do with that?

It cherry-picks the extremes.

Instead of highlighting the yoga teacher paying her rent with tasteful content, or the disabled model finding financial freedom through fetish audiences, it latches onto gang bangs and viral infamy. “Barely legal” porn star f**ks 1,000 men in 12 hours is, tragically, just a better headline.

The Film Didn’t Challenge Her—But the Culture Did Even Less

Lucy critiques director Victoria Silver for not pushing back harder on Bonnie, and she’s right. Silver had six months of access and walked away with a highlight reel, not a documentary. She let Bonnie lead the narrative and failed to probe deeper into the social impact of her work.

But why should Bonnie open up to a filmmaker who—like every platform, publication, and payment processor—ultimately profits from her existence without protecting it?

Bonnie’s career wasn’t built in a vacuum. It was built on platforms that rewarded her every escalation, mainstream news cycles that amplified her controversies, and a culture that monetizes trauma but doesn’t care to unpack it.

So yes, Silver should have asked more. But maybe we all should.

What We’re Building at Only Fans Insider Magazine

I joined Only Fans Insider Magazine because I believed content creators deserve more than clickbait and tabloid journalism. They deserve the same press and professional visibility that musicians, influencers, and entrepreneurs get. Because that’s exactly what they are.

We are here to humanize content creators.

To give them platforms that don’t just rely on shock, but showcase nuance. To highlight their stories, their ambitions, their values—and yes, even their boundaries. We want to talk to the cosplayers, the LGBTQ+ creators, the tattooed alt babes building a community, and the disabled influencers designing inclusive content. We want to talk about travel, parenting, entrepreneurship, relationships, mental health, and the future of digital intimacy.

We want to create space. Not spectacle.

And that matters—because the creators we feature aren’t just part of a subculture. They are the culture. OnlyFans alone has over 3 million creators, with a collective following in the hundreds of millions. This is the largest influencer community in the world. Period.

So why do we only hear from them when something “scandalous” happens?

Because the current media model doesn’t serve them. That’s why we’re building something new.

More Than Porn. More Than Press. A Movement.

Our magazine’s growth has been explosive—not just because of who we cover, but how. In 75 days, we’ve surpassed 1.3 million social views and over 4.7 million article page views. Our average read time is over 11 minutes. That’s not casual browsing. That’s connection.

We’ve been featured alongside industry names like Tim Stokely (founder of OnlyFans), welcomed leaders like Lucy Banks and Kevin O’Connor to our Advisory Board, and we’re about to announce our first local Chapter and Chapter Organizer. We’re not here for the sidelines. We’re here to shape the future of media—for creators, by creators.

And while we’re still new, our mission is clear:

We’re not trying to replace traditional media. We’re trying to make it better. By giving creators more options. By offering more paths to their goals. By reminding the world that adult creators don’t need fixing—they need space. Real, thoughtful, professional space.

Final Thought: Power Isn’t Always Pretty

Do I admire Bonnie’s marketing chops? Yes.

Do I think 1000 Men and Me was a missed opportunity to interrogate deeper themes? Absolutely.

But here’s what I know for sure: the answer isn’t to shame Bonnie. It’s to build better alternatives.

Bonnie is one path. But she shouldn’t be the only path.

That’s what we’re fighting for. Not to cancel, censor, or correct—but to create more space. To create new headlines. To give creators the power to choose their story.

Even if that story doesn’t involve 1,057 men and 12 hours of screen time.

-Lila Monroe

Staff Writer | Only Fans Insider Magazine

A voice for the creators rewriting the rules.