Remember Nessa from The Bernie Mac Show? The sassy, headstrong eldest sister who always had a sharp retort?
Well, actress Camille Winbush has left that persona behind for a bold new chapter – one that’s causing quite a stir.
One year ago, the former child star surprised fans by launching an OnlyFans account under the pseudonym “Candidly Cam.” It wasn’t just the platform that got many Bernie Mac Show fans all riled up; it was the complete transformation of a child star many of us grew up watching.
But Camille Winbush’s journey to “Candidly Cam” wasn’t sudden. It was fueled by a desire for freedom and a frustration with Hollywood’s limitations.
Breaking Free From The “Nessa” Mold
In a recent interview with Comedy Hype, the now 34-year-old actress revealed that after The Bernie Mac Show ended in 2006, she felt like she lacked the support system to push her career forward.
“I didn’t have the team at the time that was fighting aggressively for me to get into new doors,” Winbush shared.
But it wasn’t just about representation.
Winbush, who began working at the tender age of 2, simply craved a break from the grind of constant auditions and filming schedules.
“I was a teenager going into my 20s and has been working since I was 2 years old and I didn’t really want to keep working and being on set every day and having to give up a social life to work.”
I wasn’t really that interested in pursuing it at the time,” the actress confessed.
This desire for independence took a new form after the momentum from The Bernie Mac Show started to fade. And while she landed roles in shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, the big breaks Winbush hoped for never materialized.
“Once that momentum slows down,” she explained, “it’s harder to jump back in where you left off because now you’re ten steps behind everybody else.”
From Hollywood To OnlyFans Stardom
So, Winbush took matters into her own hands. And it paid off in a big way.
Many fans were shocked to see the former child star embracing a more provocative side on OnlyFans. The criticism was swift and harsh, with some deriding her as a ‘broke Jezebel.”
“Broke jezebels still got judgment coming,” one disgruntled ex-fan wrote. “Imagine having to do OF bc your acting careers never went beyond The Bernie Mac show…yikes on a bike,” another added.
But Winbush, ever the firecracker, refused to be silenced. She clapped back at the negativity, boldly declaring that she was in her “villain era” and refusing to be labeled a disgrace.
“I’ve never been arrested, never been on drugs, don’t have any baby daddies, I pay all my taxes, I drink water and mind the business that pays me,” she tweeted.
“If the most scandalous thing strangers can say about me is that I took some sexy pics as an adult and made a couple mil in less than 2yrs, I think I’m doing alright.”
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Winbush also addressed the critics by highlighting society’s double standards and the financial freedom and creative control OnlyFans offered.
“You see more skin on HBO than I show on my page,” she wrote. “Plus, I make significantly more money that goes directly into my pocket. Just curious where the line of acceptable content is drawn.”
Interestingly, many of Winbush’s subscribers are male fans of The Bernie Mac Show, many of whom have admitted to her being their childhood crush. And while perspectives differ on her OnlyFans endeavors, the actress’s aspirations for marriage and motherhood remain intact.
“I just want somebody who is happy to be with me and is excited to not to show me off but prop me up. Like I want somebody that is going to help elevate me, push me to the next level.”
