Gay content creator Michael Doherty is retiring from OnlyFans.
The star posted on social media on Wednesday that he's decided to quit and delete the app in order to focus on achieving his childhood dream of training to fly planes, to start a family and ultimately find love.
The 24-year-old Florida resident and fitness influencer wrote on Instagram that this wasn't a rash decision and that he had considered closing his OnlyFans accounts “a lot over the last few years.” Doherty joined OnlyFans in 2021.
“I’ve waited a while to make this decision. Today I quit and deleted my OnlyFans accounts,” he wrote. “It has been a huge burden on my heart, soul and mind over the last few years. It has distracted me and made me comfortable.”
While the app doesn't share official follower counts, Fanstats recorded Doherty's more than 5K photos and 808 videos had garnered more than 343K likes on just one of his accounts. He was also considered by Edge Media one of the biggest rising LGBTQ+ stars on TikTok, with 433K followers and 14M likes on his videos.
He explained that while he enjoyed the income he earned on OnlyFans, he had not felt “real success” from it, and had decided to pursue other, more personal goals.
“While talking to the closest people to me today, I realized I needed to do this in order to focus on what I love. That is my friends, family, my gardening, my chickens, but most importantly, my childhood dream of becoming a pilot, starting a family and finding love,” said Doherty.
“I love all my friends and family that have supported me through every part of my life journey, And most importantly the ones that are gonna support me through this change.”
Doherty, who describes himself on his personal website as "just your average controversial gay twunk and comedian," came out to his family at 18, according to Pink News. He's said his parents “weren’t very happy” at first, but after a month they “lightened up to it."
This is not the first time he's aired his feelings about the platform and its drawbacks. When Doherty was a guest on the Say It, Slay It podcast in March 2024, he reflected on his experience: “I don’t like saying I regret anything but if I would have done anything differently probably would have been like making money in a more respectable way," he said. “When you do OnlyFans you’re looked at in a different way and even look at yourself in a different way.”
Doherty's decision to quit the app follows a similar move by out gay actor Chris Salvatore, known for playing Zack in the popular LGBTQ+ romantic comedy franchise Eating Out. Salvatore told Out earlier this month he had decided to ditch OnlyFans.
"I did OnlyFans for like four years. I was one of the first actors to dabble in it, but I was worried I'd be shooting myself in the foot," said Salvatore. "Times were tough. My dog needed surgery on his broken leg and I needed cash. It's a tough industry. It can wear on you. Over those four years, I've learned that I'm really not meant for it."
