January 9, 2023
2023 Rewind: Ex-Disney Actor Dan Benson Happy to Have Found Niche on OnlyFans
READ TIME: 8 MIN.
This piece is part of EDGE's 2023 Rewind series. We're reaching into our archives and sharing some of our favorite stories from the past year.
Dan Benson describes himself on Twitter as an "Actor best known for my roles as Ethan on 'Rick and Morty' (and) 'Zeke' on 'Wizards of Waverly Place." Now I'm all grown up." And he's definitely leaving his Disney career behind him.
"Former child star Dan Benson is opening up about his transition from a G-rated career to an X-rated one," reports the New York Post.
@danleebenson I tripped and fell into adult entertainment. #disney #disneychannel #wizardsofwaverlyplace #adultenteratinment #accountant #zeke ♬ original sound - Dan Benson
The lean, ripped 35-year-old explained why in a TikTok he loaded on Saturday. "Some of you might recognize me as Zeke from Disney Channel's 'Wizards of Waverly Place,'" he began. "I now currently work in adult entertainment. And one of the questions I get asked all the time is, 'What?,' 'Huh?,' 'What do you mean?,' 'No How?' Uh, so anyway, I thought I'd take just a minute and explain how I kind of tripped and fell into doing adult entertainment."
He continued to say that while on "Waverly Place" he received messages from people all the time about how attractive he was, adding that he found some of the women "incredibly attractive."
But messaging these women, many who turned out not to be whom they said they were, "was not the best idea because I would send nude photos to them, and they would take those new photos and then post them onto online websites."
Overnight, he found that his nude photos and videos were all over web. "That was a pretty traumatic experience. And for years, I went about trying to get rid of them get them off the internet because obviously I did not want them out there."
That was easier said then done, and the attention these videos brought Benson nearly cost him the job he pursued after retiring from acting. "It had a very big negative impact on my life. Eventually, I decided to stop fighting against it, and instead go the other direction and completely lean into it and build out a page and instead of letting these people sell my privacy by, you know what I mean? I decided to say, 'All right, screw you, I'm gonna sell it myself.'"
He did so with his OnlyFans account where he wrote: "you wanted to see me naked, your wish has been granted ;)."
Nor does he regret his decision. "I've been having a tremendous amount of fun," Benson shared. "I met a lot of great people in the adult entertainment industry, and it's changed my life for the better."
"Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches," he added. "Don't do what I do, necessarily, unless you want to."
Benson also says that his success on OnlyFans is due in part to Gay Twitter. "Never underestimate the power of gay Twitter," he posted this past June.
On OnlyFans, he has 95 posts and 48,000 likes.
He also clarified that he will use this platform to further LGBTQ+ causes. "I'll be using this new found resurgence to fight for and support the LGBTQ communities that deserve so much better from this country. Drop a link to your favorite organizations below."
In one Instagram post, he promised to give his entire proceeds from the month of September to the Trevor Project.
Check out his Instagram pics where he pushes the platform's envelope:
