London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Influencers 'being offered thousands for sex'

.Top social media influencers are being propositioned daily by strangers with offers of thousands of pounds in return for sex, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has been told. One said social media had become "a catalogue" for men to select their next conquest.

"It's high-end prostitution - it's just scary to think if they've messaged me, they've probably sent it to thousands of pretty girls on Instagram," says Tyne-Lexy Clarson.

She says she was only 19 when she was first propositioned, with an offer of £20,000 for dinner and drinks.

But after starring in series two of Love Island, an agency emailed, offering her £50,000 for five nights in Dubai. It contained a non-disclosure agreement, stating that the details of what she would be required to do would remain confidential.

Tyne-Lexy says she refused the offer, but fears that struggling influencers who do not receive luxury items for free would feel pressure to "keep up appearances" and become vulnerable to these kinds of transactions.

"It's a lot of money for some people, it's life-changing amounts of money."


'Important transaction'

Rosie Williams, who starred in series three of Love Island, says she was offered £100,000 a year plus all her clothes and bags, to become a companion to a man in Dubai.

She showed us one of the recent messages she had received, from a man purporting to be in Dubai. It says she may be surprised to hear from him but he has an "important transaction" he wishes to share - which she says is a common turn of phrase in these messages.

And she says she would never be tempted, despite the large amount of money involved.

Rosie says it is not an aspect of fame she anticipated: "You're warned about trolling, you're warned that your life with change dramatically, but you're never warned that you could get bought by men."

And she says it is not spoken about in influencer circles: "We either aren't in a position where we need to do it so we don't speak about it, or we've done it and we're too ashamed."


'Degraded and violated'

This programme has seen several messages which influencers have received. The approaches vary from men directly suggesting sex, to agents acting on behalf of a wealthy client.

We received anonymous written evidence from a person claiming to be a British reality star, who said she had been offered £10,000 for sex as part of a holiday package.

"Isabel" said she was first approached on Instagram by a man 10 years older than her, after she had competed in a TV talent show.

"I was initially offered designer handbags. He had a fetish for being financially dominant so he would get a sexual kick out of spending hundreds and hundreds of pounds on bags for me," she explained. "I would also struggle to keep my followers engaged online. So I guess that's why I accepted the offer. "

She said they did not meet for 18 months and spoke every day, so she was excited to meet him.

"He was really pleasant when I was there. At dinner we started drinking and he was asking about my finances - I explained I was in £5,000 of debt. He said: 'Have sex with me and I'll give you double that'."

"Isabel" said she went up to his hotel room and went through with it. "I felt a kind of a mixture of degraded, really annoyed at myself, violated."

But she insists it is not a form of prostitution: "It is a targeted relationship that progresses over time... Whereas I think prostitution is when you agree a fee with a stranger."


Exploitation

The feminist group, Object, which campaigns against the sexual objectification of women, said it understood why women accepted the "hugely tempting" offers.

Heather Brunskell-Evans said: "The women who are involved with this will not want to hear the word prostitution. The reality is that they are selling their bodies for money.

"The groomers are offering the woman everything she needs to be a success at her job as an influencer, but ultimately it's exploitation, and that woman will have to do things for that money that she doesn't want to associate herself with, that make her feel shamed."

Celebrity agent Rob Cooper said it was not only women who were approached. He said one man who was posting online was regularly offered money to perform sex acts.

"I would say a high-level influencer or reality star receives these messages every single day."

He added that social media platforms should find a way of making people accountable to their account - using something like a passport or national insurance number - so that if they're blocked they would have to appeal to get their account reinstated.

A Facebook company spokesman said: "Sexual solicitation is not tolerated on Instagram, and those who repeatedly break our guidelines will be banned. We want Instagram to be a safe space for people to express themselves. We invest heavily in tools and technologies to prevent harassment on the platform."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×