Ex-Nickelodeon Star Explains Why She's Joined the 'Playboy' Digital Platform

Former child star Madisyn Shipman is perhaps best known for playing Kenzie Bell in the Nickelodeon series Game Shakers. The comedy, which aired for three seasons from 2015 to 2019, was about two seventh graders who start a multimillion-dollar gaming company.

But these days Shipman is shedding her clean teen image in favor for her own money-making scheme. The 20-year-old has joined the Playboy digital creator platform, similar to the OnlyFans business model, where she's earned herself financial freedom and has been able to self-fund her music career.

The publisher launched the platform, initially called Centerfold, in 2021, after shuttering the print magazine in 2020. Prior to that, Playboy had experimented with going nudity-free in 2015, but brought back the risqué content just two years later in 2017. The company now says it has already paid out millions of dollars to creators who are encouraged to "express themselves, their creativity and their sexualities unapologetically."

The digital hub allows fans to connect with creators for exclusive access to photos, video calls and other messaging features. But as Shipman explains, nudity is fully optional.

"I always said, especially to my fans, that I was never going to join a paid creator platform because I didn’t want to show my body," she told Fox News in an exclusive interview. "That was the biggest thing. That’s not how my goals align. So I made this clear to Playboy, and they said, ‘You don’t have to do that.’ That’s the great thing about Playboy. If you want to show everything, you’re more than welcome to, but you don’t have to."

"My fans love it," she continued. "And it just goes to show you that you don’t have to show your body to make money and to make this a lucrative thing for you. I’m now able to fully self-fund my music career, which is wonderful. I have my own house. I’m fully taken care of. I’ve got so much financial freedom and I truly wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for Playboy."

Shipman says it's been an "honor" to be a part of Playboy, and that she recently was given the opportunity to spend four days in the Bahamas for a photo shoot with some of the platform's other models. As far as why she decided to work with the brand, Shipman says it allowed her to break out of her Nickelodeon image.

"I have always felt a sense of repression in terms of my sexuality and showing my body," she explained. "And I think a lot of that is because I grew up on a Nickelodeon show. You’re taught that you can’t wear crop tops… you can’t show too much skin. You’ve got to be presented as a little girl constantly. And whenever that ends… I had a little bit of an identity crisis because I didn’t know who I was."

"Now, I’m reclaiming my power. I’m reclaiming my sexuality," she added. "I’m doing what makes me happy. And I have no issues posing in a bikini or a lingerie set. It’s just me. I think it’s so empowering to be able to pose like that and feel great in my skin. I love my body, so being able to do this in such a respected area and get so much love and support from it is so rewarding."

But Shipman says that while most of her fans are just seeking a connection with her, having grown up watching her on TV, that she has "definitely some odd requests."

"I mean, no shame to anyone involved, but I was never exposed to the fetish world, so that was a shock to my system," she said. "There’s been some weird requests in terms of fetishes and that kind of thing. And I don’t entertain the ones that I’m not comfortable with just because there’s no sense in me stepping out of who I am as a person… And I’m very open and honest about that. I’m like, ‘Look, I totally respect you, but that’s just not who I am. I’m not comfortable with that, but maybe we can work something else out.'"

"Most of my requests are pretty tame," she added. "Many folks just want to hear about my day… Many of them just want to have a conversation.