Drea de Matteo is opening up about how joining OnlyFans “saved” her amid economic hardship.
The “Sopranos” star, 52, who joined the adult subscription-only website in August, said in an interview with the DailyMail published Tuesday that she was on the verge of losing her home and only had $10 in her bank account before posting content on the platform.
“OnlyFans saved my life, 100 percent,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m saying that, but it really did save us.”
Matteo previously revealed that she was unable to get work in Hollywood due to her refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“They put me into foreclosure and my house had flooded, so I was trying to sell the house quickly. I wanted to try and sell it before they took it,” she told DailyMail. “At the same time, I lost my mom, and my other mom, who has dementia, had run out of money for her caregiver. I didn’t know which way was up.”
The actress said that within five minutes of posting on OnlyFans she made enough money to pay off her home and launch a streetwear brand as a secondary source of income.
“Anybody that wants to condemn me and put me down, go for it. I just hope you never find yourself in the position I was in to take care of two little kids,” she said.
Matteo shares daughter Alabama Gypsyrose, 16, and son Waylon Albert “Blackjack,” 12, with her ex Shooter Jennings.
The “Sons of Anarchy” actress also revealed her secret to making great content. “For the most part like I look good, and the best part about it is I get to be heavier. I don’t look good in the pictures if I’m skinny. Before the photo shoot, I get to eat and eat. I get to bulk up to look better,” she said.
“We’re just carb loading. I’m just being an Italian lady in the world, eating spaghetti and pasta and steak,” Matteo revealed of her pre-photo shoot diet.
In an interview with Fox News in September, the actress said that she was forced to “switch careers and figure new things out because my own industry thinks I’m a savage,” referring to her stance against COVID-19 vaccine mandates. “I guess you could say I was a bad girl because I did not follow the rules a couple of years ago.”
“I used to have a lot of money. And then, all of a sudden, I went from being allowed to work to never being allowed to work again,” Matteo said. “I was never the kind of actor that took jobs just to stay in the business. I literally took jobs to feed my family.”
Previous:Drea de Matteo says she joined OnlyFans after her stance against vaccine mandates lost her work
Matteo appeared on “The Sopranos” as a series regular for the first five seasons. In 2004, she won an Emmy for supporting actress in a drama series for her portrayal of La Cerva.
She was also a regular on “Sons of Anarchy” and “Shades of Blue.”
Matteo is the latest in a slew of celebrities who have embraced the subscription-based platform, including Cardi B, Carmen Electra, Bella Thorne, Denise Richards, Amber Rose, Tyga and Chris Brown.
Contributing: Pamela Avila
First appeared on www.usatoday.com