Former Olympic diver and gold medalist Matthew Mitcham has defended Olympic athletes who have OnlyFans accounts, saying that criticism of them is “very prudish,” according to a column he wrote in The Telegraph.
Mitcham penned the column for The Telegraph about the controversy shortly after Olympic competition in Paris started. “The world can be very prudish. It feels like people like to shame athletes who show off their bodies, even though there’s usually no full-frontal nudity involved,” Mitcham wrote, citing controversy swirling around another Olympic diver, Jack Laugher, also having an OnlyFans account.
“My attitude – as a former Olympic Champion who has been posting content on OnlyFans for 18 months – is that it’s a useful way of supplementing income. After all the hours and sacrifice we’ve put in, we athletes have more than earned the odd side-hustle,” Mitcham wrote.
US Weekly reported that Mitcham is the “first openly gay gold medal winner.” According to Olympics.com, Mitcham won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics competing in platform diving for the Australian team. He is not competing in Paris.
Laugher is a gold medalist competing for Great Britain in Paris, according to Olympics.com.
Matthew Mitcham Explained That His Income Dropped When He Retired From Diving
Mitcham revealed that he needed the money since he retired from diving.
“Since I retired from diving in 2016, my income has slowed down. I am doing corporate speaking and have worked in a few other roles, but the money I’m collecting from OnlyFans helps me get by,” he wrote in the Telegraph article.
“I’ve invested a lot of time and effort in my body,” he added. “If people want to see it, I’d be stupid to give it away for free. Yes, some might ask “Why give it away at all?” But my answer to that would be “my body, my choice” and just like any project you’ve worked hard on, it’s natural to be proud and want to show it to people.”
On OnlyFans, Mitcham has posted about the Olympic games, writing, “Updates from the Olympic Games in Paris. Wifi and 5G on the Seine is a little patchy so video may be annoying but audio is good. I did a little tour of Pride House, addressed the hot topics and scandals of the Games so far.”
He added, “For everything that would be banned on Instagram and TikTok. But please don’t expect anything too risqué – I’m still working in mainstream media so I won’t be doing any sex acts or full frontal nudity for the foreseeable future.”
Olympian Jack Laugher’s Dad Defended His Son’s Work on OnlyFans
GettyJack Laugher of Team Great Britain competes in the Men’s 3m Springboard Preliminary on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Aquatics Centre on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France.
On OnlyFans, Laugher describes himself, in part, as a “29-year-old British diver & Olympic Champion.”
According to the BBC, Laugher, an Olympic diving medalist who scored a bronze medal in Paris, is using OnlyFans to “help fund his career,” according to his father.
His father Dave Laugher told BBC Radio York, “I actually suggested it to him, but it’s nothing that you couldn’t show your grandma,” BBC reported.
According to BBC, his father also said that Laugher “has to try to make extra money to make ends meet, when really he should be getting the funding that he needs. It’s all safe content from Jack’s point of view.” He added that Laugher’s career “is a pair of trunks” adding: “There’s nothing left to the imagination when you just wear trunks all the time,” according to BBC.
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Olympic Gold Medalist Matthew Mitcham Slams ‘Prudish’ Criticism of Athletes’ OnlyFans Accounts