Most American television viewers were introduced to actress Camille Winbush as Vanessa “Nessa” Thomkinson from “The Bernie Mac Show,” but her new profession has garnered a lot of criticism online.
Winbush began creating content for the subscription-based OnlyFans platform in February 2021. The London-based website gives her fans exclusive access to various types of content, including X-rated, for a fee.
“Yes, you heard that right. I have joined OF! But I’m doing it my way,” Winbush announced on Instagram. She added, “My way = minimal nudity. So if that’s what you’re expecting sorry not sorry to disappoint.”
Rumors that Winbush earned $921,000 in her first week on OnlyFans spread across the internet shortly after the new year began. Multiple social media accounts also ran with bogus comments credited to Winbush.
“I can’t believe I’m saying that, but it really did save us. Anybody that wants to condemn me and put me down, go for it. I just hope you never find yourself in the position I was in to take care of two little kids,” read the phony quote shared by pages like Hood Report.
“Sold your soul,” one commenter wrote in response to the rumor.
However, Winbush called the viral reports fake news. The 34-year-old California native took to X to deny she made nearly $1 million a week from OnlyFans or that she is a mother of two.
“[I don’t know] where that lie of a quote originated, but I never said I made $921,000 in my first week on OnlyFans. And I do not have any children,” Winbush tweeted on Jan. 5.
Despite her public denial, Winbush still faced significant backlash for the false quote, with one person tweeting, “Bernie is rolling over in his grave [right now].”
Another misled person in Hood Report’s comment section wrote, “Imagine those same kids later on having that one homie who tells them, ‘Your mom is a freak online bro.’”
Another Instagram commenter simply posted, “Sold your soul.” A third individual on the app expressed, “Not Nessa. Lawd no.”
Meanwhile, Winbush’s fans rallied behind her. One reply to her post read, “Yeah real human beings knew that was outrageously fake and false news @camilleSwinbush! Much respect and much love!”
In another reply, a supporter posted, “I was definitely scratching my head about the 2 child statement. Folks will say anything to be relevant. Keep doing you!!!!!”
This was not the first time Winbush addressed taking the OnlyFans route after the momentum of her role on “The Bernie Mac” show died down after the show ended. After catching heat for her decision, she clapped back at negative reactions with a positive message in 2021 as well.
“A friendly reminder that my worth as a human being is not measured by the pictures I take, the length of my resume, and the [judgments] of strangers. Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Human,” Winbush captioned an Instagram post.
Two years later, Winbush went after her detractors again. In February 2023, she tweeted, “The trolls are hungry again so here’s some food for thought – I’ve never been arrested, never been on drugs, don’t have any baby daddies, I pay all my taxes, I drink water and mind the business that pays me.”
Winbush also hinted at the amount of money she made from OnlyFans, writing, “If the most scandalous thing strangers can say about me is that I took some sexy pics as an adult and made a couple mil in less than 2yrs, I think I’m doing alright as a human in today’s society.”
In June 2024, the NAACP Image Award winner spoke about becoming an OnlyFans content creator during an interview with the Comedy Hype YouTube channel, too.
“People who are outside of the acting world have no place to speak on it,” Winbush responded when asked about the online perception that she needed OnlyFans to make money.
The former child star went on to admit that residual payments from her work on “The Bernie Mac Show” decreased over the 19 years since the series ended.
“Twenty years later, those checks are not sustainable for a living, and with the industry being as fickle as it is, you can’t count on any jobs to last or even book a job,” she explained.
The former youth gymnast teacher also said, “If I can find a way to make enough to buy a home, from the comfort and safety of my own living room, why wouldn’t I do that?”
Winbush portrayed Nessa on “The Bernie Mac Show” for five seasons from Nov. 2001 to April 2006. The show’s cast also featured Kellita Smith, Jeremy Suarez, Dee Dee Davis, and the late Bernie Mac.
Following her stint on the Larry Wilmore-created Fox sitcom, Winbush also appeared as a recurring character on ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” teen drama beginning in 2008.
