Photo Illustration: Todd Franson, Original Photo: VladOrlov via iStockphoto
Several gay adult film performers and content creators say they have been targeted by crypto scammers who hacked their X accounts and demanded ransom payments in exchange for restoring access.
As first reported by Wired, Patrick Bewley, a gay OnlyFans creator known as Daddy Patrick who has appeared on several adult websites, said his X account — which had amassed 132,000 followers — suddenly began posting pro-Trump and pro-MAGA content that he did not author.
On April 9, Bewley received a direct message from the account of Jasun Mark, an adult film director and editor. The message asked Bewley to nominate Mark for an award and seemed harmless because “it did sound kind of like something he would do,” Bewley told Wired.
The link redirected Bewley to what appeared to be an X login page. “But nothing was taking, or so I thought,” he told Wired. He later heard from the real Mark, who said he had not sent the message about the award nomination. By then, the attacker had used the fake link to gain access to Bewley’s account and change the associated name, phone number, and email address. The account’s handle was first changed to @DADDYPATRIOzvu and then, a day later, to @Fatherokdwcjo63.
Bewley’s partner, Jerry Burt, immediately reported the hack to X from his personal account, saying Bewley’s account had been stolen. Afterward, the account went into “crazy MAGA mode,” replacing its banner and avatar with a black-and-white image of former White House adviser and right-wing activist Steve Bannon that promoted WarRoom.org, the website for Bannon’s political podcast and video stream, along with a Linktree directing users to his various platforms.
On April 16, the hacker posted a pro-Trump meme on the account, prompting Burt to ask how they could get the account back.
“Just pay for it. That’s all,” the hijacker wrote in messages reviewed by Wired while demanding $2,000 in GAT cryptocurrency. “You want this account or not? Ain’t joking man.”
After Bewley refused to pay, the attacker messaged his employer, Ducati Studios Network, a porn production company where Bewley recently joined as chief marketing officer, and demanded $3,000 in cryptocurrency. The account continued posting pro-MAGA content, which Bewley said damaged his brand because many followers do not wish to support performers associated with right-wing ideology.
“If you ask me what the potential loss is, being associated with MAGA as a gay content creator is like saying you’re a Nazi,” Bewley said. “It’s a no-go territory. There’s no middle road.”
Beyond the damage to his brand, losing control of the account meant Bewley would have to start over building a following — a metric often considered by performers and studios when evaluating potential collaborators.
“It is the one platform people look at as the measure of where your standing is, almost like a ranking,” Bewley told the magazine, explaining how adult content creators use X to boost their visibility. “And everybody wants to work with you if you have over 100,000 followers. You have automatic credibility.”
Even though Bewley had a verified account and continues to pay for the service, he said he received no help from X support in regaining control of it. According to Bewley, X told him it had no way to verify that he was the account’s rightful owner.
Bewley is not the only adult content creator to be targeted by scammers.
On April 12, Fabian Quezada, who performs under the name “Buck Bronco,” found himself locked out of his X account after receiving a WhatsApp message. According to screenshots reviewed by Wired, the attacker threatened Quezada, who replied, “I don’t care what you do with it. Not my main source of income. So go fuck yourself.”
Quezada told Wired he never asked how much it would cost to regain control of the account, believing that escalating the situation would only have cost him money. He added that he changed all his bank accounts and credit cards “just to make sure that nothing was compromised.”
Liam Angell, the founder of musclebearporn.com, and Mark, the adult film director whose account was used to target Bewley, both told Wired that their X accounts had been hacked but were eventually recovered. Mark said he lost access to his account for a month, during which the hacker posted “a bunch of crypto tweets” and sent messages to his 68,000 followers.
According to Wired, the attacks began around the same time X undertook a platform-wide purge of fake, inactive, and spam accounts. The “cleanup” also led to the suspension and deletion of human-run alt accounts, including those used to curate niche pornography.
Bewley has since launched a new account using his former handle to promote his work in the adult film industry. In an April 26 post explaining the hack, he wrote: “Daddy is back! My new account, same name. Please follow me and help me get my audience back.”
The new account currently has 9,491 followers — well short of the 132,000 he once had. While he remains undeterred, Bewley described the process to Wired as “building a sand castle against the tide.”
Drake Von, an adult content creator best known for his gay and bisexual-themed videos, was arrested on June 2 in Las Vegas for allegedly attempting to strangle a domestic partner.
Von, whose real name is Dawson Bacon, was charged with domestic battery by strangulation and coercion constituting domestic violence through the threat or use of physical force, according to court records obtained by TMZ. He also faces a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.
Von was held in a Las Vegas jail following his arrest but was reportedly released after posting a $25,246 bond.
A Republican congressman is apologizing for a social media post on his X account that attempted to provoke the LGBTQ community during Pride Month by declaring that "homosexuality has no place in America."
The statement, posted to the official X account of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), echoes anti-LGBTQ rhetoric embraced by some of the world's most theocratic or authoritarian regimes, including Iran, Ghana, Uganda, and Russia. In those countries, LGBTQ identity and same-sex relationships are often criminalized or heavily stigmatized, with some governments imposing lengthy prison sentences, harsh fines, corporal punishment, or even the death penalty.
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