"I just felt that it was not really fair," the actress said of the vitriol aimed at her daughter, whom she shares with Charlie Sheen.
Denise Richards always has her daughter's back.
The 51-year-old actress made headlines this summer when both she and her 18-year-old daughter, Sami Sheen, joined the subscription-based, adult social media platform, OnlyFans.
In the Sept.1 episode of SiriusXM's Jeff Lewis Live, Denise hints that while the move has proven to be financially lucrative, she only signed on initially as a way to help alleviate some of the public vitriol aimed at Sami for joining the site first.
"The reason why I wanted to join was because she got so much backlash for that, that I didn't think it was really fair," Denise says. "I've done things in my career, I've done Playboy and obviously Wild Things, and I've done sexy shoots before promoting movies and stuff like that. Sometimes people say negative things -- well, a lot of times they do and a lot of times they don't -- and I thought this is not fair that she would be getting this much backlash when a lot of people post stuff like that even just on Instagram. Not to take it as far as you can take it on OnlyFans, obviously, but still. It's like, I just felt that it was not really fair for her to get that kind of backlash."
The Real Housewives alum says that while Sami is 18 years old and did not require parental consent when creating her account, she did broach the subject with her parents prior to taking the plunge. Admitting she was "surprised" at first, Denise says that Sami "reassured me that she was going to keep it very tasteful to mainly, like, bikini stuff, bathing suit and stuff like that."
Among those who initially voiced his disapproval was Denise's ex-husband and Sami's father, Charlie Sheen, but he quickly changed his tune.
In a June statement to ET, released by Sheen's publicist, Jeff Ballard, the actor said Richards "illuminated a variety of salient points, that in my haste, I overlooked and dismissed." Sheen's rep added, "Now more than ever, it's essential that Sami have a united parental front to rely upon, as she embarks on this new adventure. From this moment forward, she’ll have it abundantly.”
For Denise, she says she's comfortable pushing boundaries a bit further than her daughter with the content that she shares.
"I do bikini, I do lingerie, I do stuff that is sexier because I also think, 'Why not?'" she says, noting that she shows her "boobies" and "tush" on the platform.
"They're already out there if you Google them," she adds.
"To me, it's more of a throwback to the old -- when you join a fan site. It's a very contemporary fan site," she jokes. "I did it for supporting my daughter. Being a mom who was an actress who's done stuff, I just thought it's empowering too as a woman and a man to take control. You own all of the content and a lot of the other platforms we don't own the content, so it's nice to be able to control it, too."
Elsewhere in the interview, Denise doubles down on her willingness to return to Bravo's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast and working with Lisa Rinna again.
"I would be fine with working with Lisa and filming with her. I never said that I wouldn't go back because of her," she says.
"She plays dirty and she can be really nasty, so, I think that's just something to know about with her being on the show," she adds with a laugh, noting that Lisa did reach out with an apology text after their on-camera feud.
"I haven't seen her," she continues. "I could never be close friends with her."
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