One of the internet’s most popular adult content creators says PayPal fined her more than $90,000 after she went viral for selling a nontraditional personal item: water she had bathed in.
Belle Delphine, who had already developed a significant following as a livestreamer, became an internet sensation in 2019 after she sold out of $30 bottles of her used “GamerGirl” bathwater in three days. The move helped catapult her into a new level of stardom, which she later parlayed into even more success as an adult content creator.
On Monday, Delphine said that the viral moment hadn’t been as lucrative as she had claimed. She said on X that she actually lost money on the stunt and that PayPal is to blame.
“Since it’s been a couple years now I can finally share the biggest L I’ve ever taken,” Delphine posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Taking an L” is slang for taking a loss.
“Not only did I not earn any money selling my bathwater, I in fact LOST money doing it,” she continued. “PayPal without any warning closed my PayPal account and took the $90,000 that I earned from selling my bathwater. There was nothing I could do, I tried phoning them up and they just said ‘sorry, nothing we can do!’”
Delphine included a screenshot that showed a transaction in which PayPal took over $90,000 from her account in May 2021, two years after she sold the used bathwater. She later posted that the screenshot showed the company withdrawing money from her account.
She didn’t respond to requests for comment.
A PayPal spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News: “For privacy reasons, we cannot comment on specific accounts.”
The allegation adds to those made by some creators (most notably those who toe the line on sexually suggestive content) who say that major internet platforms often take action against their content with little warning or reason.
PayPal has rules around “sexually oriented goods and services” and says it allows U.S.-based transactions only for physical goods such as videos, DVDs and magazines. Delphine, who is based in the United Kingdom, wrote in a follow-up post that she isn’t sure which term of service she broke and doesn’t know whether it has to do with the bathwater specifically. PayPal didn’t clarify which term of service she broke.
PayPal’s conduct toward adult performers has been scrutinized by civil rights groups, influencers and sex workers for more than a decade. In June 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union…
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