"Sopranos" actress Drea de Matteo recently revealed on Jamie Kennedy's "Hate to Break It To Ya" podcast that opening her OnlyFans page was a "political statement". "In a way, the OnlyFans page was almost like a political statement on my part… It was like, 'Go to hell. I don't have to work'", de Matteo said.
De Matteo explained that some critics believe that, because of her Emmy-winning role as Adriana la Cerva on the HBO series, she must be "made of money". However, she noted that the real reason she opened OnlyFans was because of financial problems. "Everyone sees me come along and says, 'Here comes that rich old lady from The Sopranos'", she stated. "But that's not how it is. Actually, I live a pretty normal life. I had to open that OnlyFans page to settle a lien on my house after a mortgage foreclosure".
De Matteo indicated that when she initially launched OnlyFans it was to "start a podcast because I was afraid of being censored". But after receiving encouragement from her children, she shared a photo of herself in a bikini on the page and "within 75 minutes" earned enough to pay the lien on her house.
In a 2024 interview with Variety, de Matteo shared how OnlyFans helped her financially during the pandemic while she faced criticism from her family for not being vaccinated. She recalled that her brother told her at the time that she was "risking everyone's life in your house", but years later, when she had to open OnlyFans to save her home, her brother changed his position and told her: "Your body, your choice. I'm with you all the way".
