Sex industry raising funds for Australia

Working for free in the hopes that people will donate

To raise money for Australian fire relief, women in the online sex industry are selling nude photos of themselves. Model Kaylen Ward launched the trend with a tweet. She says she's helped raise close to $1 million — and sparked several models to follow her lead. While Instagram deactivated Ward’s account over her "sexually suggestive" content, the campaign has largely been met with support.

A body is just a body

“Not only are sex workers helping a good cause, but we're also showing the world that we're real people doing real work, and we all have good hearts. I saw on her Instagram that she had a small, a relatively small following, but she was able to raise 30,000 dollars in just a few hours. So, knowing that I had a similar following on Twitter, I decided to essentially copy and paste her exact message. It has been absolutely overwhelming and amazing how many people have come together for the Australian wildfires. And so far, I have raised approximately 45,000 dollars and counting. I still have thousands of unopened D.M., so there's really no telling. I just knew that it would help. I just knew it. Sex sells. It really does. And if you tag on a good cause, it. I just knew it would prompt people, especially based on the amount that Kaylen had raised when I started,” Jenna Hopkins, Adult content creator tells Brut.

Other social media adult stars are joining the cause and offering photos for proof of donations, such as porn actor Riley Reid

At least 24 people have died as over 200 fires have burned around Australia since September 2019. Ward estimated that she and a small team she's hired to respond to the requests have now sent 10,000 nude photos. The demand has been so overwhelming that they've had to stop. Since the money is going directly to charities, Ward herself isn't getting a cut, although her social media following has grown exponentially since the campaign started. A Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed News her account "was disabled for violating our policies. Offering nude images is not allowed on Instagram."

Brut.