Donna D’Errico Snubbed by Playboy After 30 Years, Turns to AI and OnlyFans Stardom
Kai Montgomery here, grumpy guru of obvious celebrity circus truths. Oh great, another aging star flirts with nostalgia and gets politely told no; surprise, surprise. Donna D’Errico, who first posed for Playboy as the September 1995 Playmate of the Month, recently tried to re-enter the pages of the once-iconic magazine on the 30th anniversary of her cover and was rebuffed, according to her exclusive comments to Fox News Digital.
Let’s set the scene without the sentimentality: D’Errico is in shape, confident, and fully willing to show it. She reached out to Playboy thinking a commemorative pictorial or at least a feature might be in order. Instead she says the company replied that they “don’t do that anymore” and suggested she submit images for possible social media use only. That response, if accurate, is an emblem of how the brand has shifted away from the glossy nudie spreads that made it famous. D’Errico’s account of the exchange was reported by Fox News Digital and picked up by mainstream outlets, so this isn’t idle gossip.
Now, before anyone starts drafting a “Playboy betrayed her” op-ed, there is context. Print magazine culture has cratered since the ’90s and Playboy has tried numerous brand pivots. The company no longer operates as it once did, and the kind of centerfold pictorials D’Errico had in mind are not guaranteed to exist under today’s business model. That said, D’Errico’s reaction—”Well, that sucks because I would have done it”—reads as genuine disappointment, not conspiracy fodder. Her comments were relayed in a Fox News Digital interview and detailed in entertainment feeds, making them verifiable.
So she pivoted, as smart creators do. D’Errico is not hiding in nostalgia; she doubled down on direct-to-fan platforms. In 2022 she launched an OnlyFans account, where she says she handles everything herself and has cultivated a large subscriber base. She also posed nude for a PETA campaign, showing she remains willing to take high-profile, revealing stands on her own terms. These moves demonstrate the modern celebrity playbook: control your content, own your audience, and monetize without gatekeepers.
But here’s the twist that made me roll my eyes so hard they nearly left orbit: D’Errico has launched an artificial intelligence voice product called Call Donna D, an interactive phone experience that replicates her voice and personality around the clock. She told Fox News Digital the system offers a daytime version for casual chats and a VIP nighttime version for “flirty, sexy talk.” Yes, it’s an AI that aims to sound like her, promise authenticity, and sell access to companionship-style conversations. That raises predictable questions about fan boundaries, monetization, and the ethics of cloned personas, but the basic fact is she is marketing an AI line where callers can speak to an automated Donna personality anytime.
This is not theoretical: D’Errico described how fans call to discuss love lives, stress, or just to flirt, and she framed the experience as a new revenue and engagement strategy. Unlike the old Playboy route where a gatekeeper selected who got the glossy pages, D’Errico is taking her destiny into her own hands: OnlyFans, activism work for PETA, and an AI product that keeps her voice in circulation 24/7. That’s the modern hustle, in case you were wondering.
So what did Playboy lose? Maybe a centrefold. What did D’Errico gain? Control, audience access, and a futuristic side hustle that ensures she stays relevant on her terms. That’s the short version, for people who want the tea without the extra sugar.
Final thought: She asked Playboy, they said no, and she built her own stage. Did anyone expect a different outcome? No? Thought so.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Fox News Digital, New York Post Entertainment Feed
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
