【AI前沿】‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ Won TV’s OnlyFans Wars

Jason ParhamCultureMay 21, 2026 6:30 AMMargo’s Got Money TroublesWon TV’s OnlyFans WarsUnlikeEuphoria, the Apple TV show wants to humanize the experience of sex workers rather than catastrophize the extremes of the profession.Still fromMargo’s Got Money Troubles.Courtesy of Allyson Riggs/Apple TV+CommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyMargo Millet specializesin “constructive, recreational appendage analysis,” and for $20 onOnlyFans, she will tell you whatPokémonyour penis most resembles and what attacks it might have.Artfully detailing strangers’ private parts on theinternetis not exactly the kind of work the protagonist ofMargo’s Got Money Troublesdreamed of doing when she was little, but she’s strapped for cash, parenting solo, and has an uncanny gift for it (such as: “Your Bulbasaur’s special move is Ooze Attack, extremely potent pre-cum”). Before long, and with 200 new followers, Margo has learned her first lesson: “The ones that hate their dicks, they tip the most.”TVhas never shied away from portrayals ofsex workersand the business ofporn, butApple TV’s adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s 2024 novel of the same name, provides one of its most complex. The show’s season finale aired May 20.OnlyFans is now its own subgenre in pop culture. A decade since it launched, and with more than 4 million creators on the platform, the adult content site, and everything it represents about the future of work for Gen Z, has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most human narratives. As Margo makes clear, “I can’t just go and get another job.” The creator class, also a pain point in the current season of HBO’sEuphoria, has become the ultimate allegory for society: one where we are all just entertainment for one another online.The very niche genre of erotic humiliation is just the tip of the iceberg for Margo (Elle Fanning), a book-smart 20-year-old college dropout who, after a brief affair with her literature professor, finds out she is pregnant, loses her job, and suddenly has to pay double in rent after two roommates move out because they can’t handle the baby’s relentless crying. Turning to OnlyFans, though, ends up being a blessing in disguise; it provides Margo with a stable income while also acting as a creative outlet for her.Margo quickly runs into a common problem for creators on the platform who don’t have large social media followings: No one can find her. (According to OnlyFans, the platform intentionally limits its search feature as a safety precaution so users don’t accidentally encounter NSFW content they didn’t intend to see.) She learns that posting multiple times a week and collaborating with like-minded creators is the best way to grow her following—and, with the help of her cosplay-obsessed bestie, she creates a persona called Hungry Ghost, an alien with an insatiable sexual appetite. “Give me your boredom, your sadness, your anxieties. I will eat it all,” she writes in her bio. (Previous studies have linked increased porn consumption to “excessive stress” and “boredom.”)It’s the kind of sex work story, unsexy and mundane, rarely entrusted to an audience, and not because those stories don’t exist, but because they have never fit into the tidy—or sensationalized—narratives of how the business actually works. There isn’t anything particularly titillating about the granular details of how to grow your following—in Margo’s case, it’s more funny than anything else.Thorpe didn’t want Margo to be just another content creator who sells the same boring nudes and custom videos. “Part of what makes OnlyFans sexy is when it feels authentic and real, as opposed to hyperproduced pornography that makes it feel less intimate,” she said in aninterviewwith Variety. Drawn to their ability to combine actual human elements into the profession, Thorpe, who created an OnlyFans account while researching the book, pulled inspiration from unorthodox creators likeBigHonkinCaboose, a comedian who incorporates humor into her OnlyFans persona, andHarperTheFox, a musician with a gift for creating parody songs aboutgiving headandconsensual anal sex.“The work inherently has funny aspects to it. Sexual things in general can have an air of silliness and absurdity, and I’ve never shied away from making jokes within my sex life or my content. I find it puts people at ease,” Megan Graves, who performs as BigHonkinCaboose, tells WIRED. “I’ve also dressed up as Handsome Squidward and Meg Griffin for content simply because I thought it would be funny, and I stand by those choices.”Graves, 30, joined OnlyFans in 2020 and says that being herself has always been the most satisfying and natural way to create something and to find people who genuinely connect with it. It’s the same approach Margo takes: building sets and craftingelaborate storylinesabout Hungry Ghost into viralTikTok microdramaswith the help of two local creators (always, of course, with a reminder to check out her spicy content on her OF page.)While Grav