OnlyFans Creators Allege Unruly Agency Has Exploited Them
Unruly Agency has been making headlines this year for all the wrong reasons. The incredibly successful talent agency is known
CELEB Magazine
Unruly Agency has been making headlines this year for all the wrong reasons. The incredibly successful talent agency is known for representing famous models, including those who ply their art on OnlyFans. Co-founded by Nicky Gathrite and Tara Niknejad – also known as Tara Electra – they bring in some big-name talent such as Tana Mongeau and have streamlined the OF experience for content creators. However, all is not well according to former clients and staffers in a new lawsuit; Unruly is catfishing.
OnlyFans Creators Accuse Unruly
Unruly has already been sued twice this year, by models who were formerly represented by them. The first lawsuit came in July, against Unruly and Behave Agency – another talent company.
The first complaint came from a woman going by Jane Doe, and she says that Unruly and Behave posted nude content she created, without her consent. Doe uses a popular model for OF models whereby she posts less revealing photos on her main page, and followers can unlock more revealing content through a premium paywall. InputMag reports, “Jane Doe says that, instead, both management companies published her fully nude photos on the main feed for all subscribers to see. That included a two-minute-long video of the model ‘disrobing, exposing her bare breasts and showing Ms. Doe fully nude from behind,’ the suit alleges.”
According to Behave, they’ve done nothing wrong and suggests that Unruly was named in error. That lawsuit is moving to arbitration. But that’s not the only accusation leveled against the agency.
In August, another lawsuit claims Unruly acted irresponsibly with a client’s nude photographs. In this situation, the former Unruly model claims that a representative of the agency took nude photographs of her while at an event, without her permission. Per Business Insider, “The model also claims that when she tried to end her business relationship with Unruly, for an unrelated reason, the company published a nude photo of her on the subscription-content platform OnlyFans, ‘likely’ in an act of ‘retaliation’ which, she claims, constitutes ‘revenge porn,’ under a California statute.
Jane Doe ‘suffered severe emotional, mental, and psychological distress,’ the lawsuit claims, including ‘humiliation, shame, guilt, and embarrassment.’”
In both lawsuits there’s a theme of being treated punitively, with their nudes used against them. Unruly denies wrongdoing and in response to the second lawsuit has said, “This complaint is completely unfounded and we are confident the matter will be resolved in our favor. We have successful partnerships with more than one hundred models, all of whom trust us implicitly with their brands and reputations.”
Unruly Staffers were Paid to Catfish People
If only Unruly’s supposed faux pas ended there. Alas, staffers who worked for the agency have come forward in recent months to add even more allegations to the growing pile. According to former staffers, Unruly hired them to catfish people into believing they were talking to the OnlyFans models they were paying to interact with – but in reality, it was an overworked staffer sexting behind the screen.
Insider reports, “… part of Unruly’s success rests on a central secret: It has a hidden army of ‘account managers’ like Emma who pretend to be the OnlyFans models they manage — and who spend much of their days ghostwriting responses to messages that fans pay to send influencers, according to three former Unruly staffers and three former clients.
A November lawsuit from two other former staffers likens the ghostwriting practice to ‘fraud.’ And some Unruly insiders said they believed that if the illusion that the fans were always chatting directly with the influencers were shattered, the money would stop flowing.”
In this newest lawsuit, the former account managers are claiming Unruly engaged in wage theft, unlawful termination, and intentionally inflicting emotional distress. Insider adds that the lawsuit includes the accusation that staffers were expected to, “intentionally lie to, dupe, and mislead fans.”
If an average person was doing this, they’d be called catfish. So what do you call a talent and management agency that does it? Apparently, they know nothing about it. Unruly calls the claims unfounded and has suggested they look forward to defending themselves in court.
Other Accusations Against Unruly
It doesn’t end there, though. Back in September, CELEB was contacted by an anonymous source about how Unruly Agency and Live Rich Media were being accused of skipping out on bills that they owed to people providing their clients with services.
“So what are the accusations? According to the source who spoke with CELEB and reports from elsewhere on the internet, Live Rich Media has failed to pay their bills in full many times over, and Unruly is a part of the delinquency. They have engaged the services of tour/organizers who work with celebrities and influencers to provide trips with everything taken care of. These tour companies provide airfare, visas, local activities, access to locations to shoot photos and videos, dining and even alcohol access, plus more. They’re basically your butler-meets-travel-agent-meets-personal-assistant who welcomes you into a foreign city and then sets you up pretty.
According to these agencies, they provided the services requested – and then either did not get paid at all, or were paid only part of what they were owed. One company has received 80% of the money owed to them – but Richardson then went silent. Another company hasn’t received any money, and is now receiving threatening calls from local businesses wondering why they haven’t been paid. They can’t get paid until Gathrite and Richardson settle their bill – some $20K+.”
Four people are currently waiting for money from Unruly and primarily Live Rich Media. While Live Rich is the center of these accusations, Unruly’s involvement adds to the overall impression that the company is perhaps engaging in some less than up-and-up dealings.
It’s hard to say whether these lawsuits will bear fruits for the plaintiffs, but it all paints a picture that suggests Unruly should start to worry about their reputation.