OnlyFans stars are taking the internet by storm with a new competitive sex trend, racking up viewers — and increasing their “body count” — in the process.
Australian creator Annie Knight, for one, made headlines earlier this month when she slept with 583 men in six hours. The pace was on track to beat current record holder U.K. star Bonnie Blue, who claimed in January to have had sex with 1,057 men in 12 hours.
“Doing 583 in a day is quite a lot so I was a little bit worried that I was gonna really struggle with it, because the most I’ve done before that was 24 in a day,” Knight, 28, exclusively told Us Weekly days after completing the event on May 18. “But it was honestly fine. I was shocked by how easy it was.”
For sexologist Logan Levkoff, the way this trend is set up seems to be the “least equitable, healthy way to look at non-monogamous sex.”
“Sex is supposed to be, in a perfect world, pleasurable, consensual, intimate, connected, and obviously the things that make sex all of those different descriptors, we lose a lot of them in a competitive sex situation,” she exclusively told Us. “Sex as a challenge becomes goal oriented. It is certainly not pleasure-based.”
When it comes to the events, OnlyFans stars have sometimes opted to put protections in place, including ensuring that participating men wear condoms and mandating testing for sexually transmitted diseases — but there are no rules and regulations. Condoms may provide the “majority” of protection against diseases, and pregnancy for that matter, but Levkoff said that they do not prevent the spread “entirely.”
“Lack of lubrication, tearing, all of those things, create a perfect storm if someone has an STI, for it to spread,” she explained. “People get STIs. This is not a judgment on STIs by any stretch of the imagination. But one would hope that if you were going to have sex of any kind with hundreds of people, not just for your own safety, but also for the safety of the people that you are being sexually intimate with, is to employ mandatory testing.”
Indeed, Knight herself has suffered injuries and health complications as a result of her work. Days after completing the challenge on May 18, she exclusively told Us that she had been hospitalized and was undergoing medical testing. Knight, who suffers from endometriosis, later told Us that her body “just hit a wall” after pulling off the event. The creator pointed out that she had been simultaneously purchasing her “dream home” which left her “exhausted” and her condition became “worse” — noting that “hormonal imbalances can cause irregular and heavy periods,” which is what she has been “dealing with since” the event.
“The prognosis is good, and it looks like I’m going to have to take a week off, try and relax a little bit, sit out in the sun, just take it easy for a little while,” Knight said. “But I’ll definitely be OK. I’m not letting this slow me down.”
Aside from the physical risks associated with these challenges, experts warned of the emotional and mental toll that competitive sex may have on OnlyFans stars. New York and Washington D.C. psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert exclusively told Us that the stunts can lead to feelings of emptiness, anxiety and a “complete lack of sexual desirability.”
“There could be some trauma that comes from that. It’s a performance. If you feel like you’re not living up to it, someone might feel dehumanized and objectified to the nth degree. I think it’s just bad all around,” the author of Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days told Us. “In the moment, they might feel like they’re really special, but after, I think, they probably feel worthless. They’ve relied so heavily on this external approval, and when all that is gone just feel really empty, confused about what their actual worth and value is. I think they’ll have difficulty forming, healthy, authentic bonds with people.”
After OnlyFans star Lily Phillips attempted the competitive sex trend in December 2024, she became emotional. Phillips, who admitted to feeling guilty that not all men had a similar experience at her event, ultimately slept with 100 people that day. “It’s not for the weak. If I’m honest, it was hard,” Phillips, 23, reflected in a YouTube documentary by Josh Pieters. “I don’t know if I’d recommend it.”
Not only may the influencers themselves experience these emotions, but the men participating as well — particularly those who have not been intimate before. As part of the competitive sex challenge, some OnlyFans stars have set goals to sleep with a specific number of virgins. Levkoff warned that this can create a “very uncomfortable power dynamic” between the creator and the newbie. She added, “If you’re looking to rack up bodies or be someone’s first experience, then that’s not really about them, is it?”
The word “empowerment” has been continually mentioned among creators. In March, Blue shared on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast that the acts make her confident, but noted that her expression of sexuality is not necessarily “empowering for other women.”
New York City sex therapist Stephen Snyder MD exclusively noted to Us that there’s “an endless supply of young women online trying to turn sex appeal into cash” — so it’s understandable that a “young desirable woman killing the competition on OnlyFans by going viral online might feel empowered.”
“Being a sexually appealing woman is one of the oldest forms of economic power in the world,” the author of Love Worth Making: How to Have Ridiculously Great Sex in a Long-Lasting Relationship shared. “But I hate to see a young person have to turn their sexuality into a circus sideshow to make a living.”
For Levkoff, the word empowerment is a “complicated” one. “I think that the question becomes, really, why is someone doing anything? If it’s for themselves, then I understand empowerment. But if it’s for respect, for fame, for money, whatever it is, like the question becomes, if you’re doing it for something or someone other than yourself, is it empowerment?” Levkoff asked. “I obviously don’t have the answer to that question for someone. I can only hope, as a professional, that anyone who is doing anything sexual feels pleasure, safety, connectedness and empowered by what they’re doing.”
She continued, “Do I think that comes easy if you’re having competitive sex on OnlyFans with hundreds of people? I think that’s very complicated. I have to imagine that would not be the typical experience for most people.”
If OnlyFans creators begin experiencing negative feelings after the events, Levkoff suggested that the influencers could cope by seeking third party assistance from mental health professionals while taking a step back from their online presence.
“Social media, let’s be honest, is kind of like a drug,” she told Us. “The more attention we get, the more we want it, we feed off it. But it’s definitely not a way to heal if you’re looking for some peace and mindfulness and some sense of resolution.”
With these conversations, the larger question looms about the message the goal-oriented trend is sending. Alpert, for one, worried that competitive sex tells a younger generation of men and women that “self-worth is measured by shock value.”
“I think it sends a message to people that you can get attention by having dangerously excessive sex,” he said. “To someone who is vulnerable or wants a quick sort of fix or elevation in their profile, they might be willing to do that.”
In Alpert’s perspective, the competitive sex trend warrants a deeper look at society — and why this is gaining traction.
“What does it say about us that someone feels the need to sleep with hundreds of people in a few hours just to go viral? This isn’t confidence, it’s desperation,” he told Us. “The more we normalize it, the more we teach young people, especially girls, that their value lies in extremes. This is a crisis of meaning and self-respect. We need to stop pretending this is progress. It’s not.”
