Denise Richards defends daughter's decision to join OnlyFans at 18
Denise Richards is opening up about her daughter Sami Sheen's decision to start an OnlyFans account when she turned 18 and what she thought of the backlash she received for it.
The actress and model shared her support for her eldest daughter's decision to join the internet content subscription service, which is most notably associated with sexually explicit content, during an interview with People published Wednesday.
She said she wasn't familiar with the service before her daughter joined, adding that she "had heard of it" but "didn't know what it was."
"At first, I didn't understand what OnlyFans was," she continued. "When I saw that she was getting backlash for owning her sexuality and doing what she wanted to do, it upset me as a mom and also as a woman in business."
Richards also pointed to the fact that she starred in the erotic thriller "Wild Things" in her younger years -- the actress was in her mid-20s during filming of the 1998 movie.
"It's surreal for me because Sami and Lola are getting close to the age I was when I did it," she said, referencing her two older daughters. "It was definitely risqué and also a risk on my part. God bless my parents. What they must have had to deal with my whole career."
For her part, Sheen said she was inspired to join the service to earn more cash.
"I think what made me start an OnlyFans in the beginning is because I really wanted to get an apartment, and I knew that working at the candy shop I was working at wasn't going to cut it," she told People.
"I went to the next best thing and made an OnlyFans. It opened so many doors for me, and I've met really cool people doing it," she added, saying she has enjoyed being her own boss and working on her own hours.
Richards started her own OnlyFans account not long after Sheen, noting that her venture has been "quite lucrative."
Sheen said she thinks her mother's decision to join the platform is "great," but added that she "wished she waited a little bit, because she started it right after I did."
Denise Richards has defended her daughter's presence on the platform before. The mom of three posted a long message to Instagram defending her daughter's decision in 2022, writing, "I have to say, I wish I had the confidence my 18 yr old daughter has. And I also can't be judgemental [sic] of her choices. I did Wild Things & Playboy."
In their interview with People, Sheen and Richards said they do not look at each other's OnlyFans accounts.
"That would be weird," Sheen said.
"That's where we draw the line," Richards added.
Richards is just one of several celebrities who have joined OnlyFans. Comedian Whitney Cummings, Actress Drea de Matteo, and DJ Khaled are among the big names who have joined the platform. Numerous celebrities have joined OnlyFans for the revenue opportunity and not the sexually explicit content.
The Richards family will star in a brand-new reality series next month titled "Denise Richards and Her Wild Things."
Richards shares Sami Sheen, 20, and Lola Sheen, 19, with and ex-husband Charlie Sheen. She is also mom to her adopted daughter Eloise, 13, whom she raises with husband Aaron Phypers.
