EDGE Interview: John Duff is in the Buff on OnlyFans but it's his Bottomless Musical Talent that's on Display

There is no real formula for sexiness; everyone has their own concepts. But if there were ever a recipe for it, John Duff is a cookbook full of ideas. The 36-year-old singer has released a new song called "Stick Up," and with it comes a video with two versions: one available on YouTube, and the other on OnlyFans.

Duff is pragmatic and knows his fan base. They want to see him in as little clothing as possible, belting out dance songs in videos with thirsty homoeroticism set amid bright colors and sumptuous set pieces. It is an assignment he understands, and he has done it without taking all of his clothes off for six years. His latest single, "Stick Up," ushers in his new era, a bottomless one both figuratively and literally. He has joined OnlyFans to promote the the new track's video, and, according to him, it's been a long time coming.

"I was performing at a Gay Pride in Chicago in June," Duff tells EDGE. "And when I left the stage one of the executives of OnlyFans was there and he said, 'You should join the platform.' It is something my fans have asked me to do for a long time. I knew if I was going to do it, I would want to do it right, and I'd want to have a message."

"Stick Up" definitely has a message. As he explains it, the song is about society and how people perceive morality. There is a fine line between having agency over yourself and being unknowingly forced to compromise your boundaries for cash. "Integrity is for the poor, and if you're rich then you're a whore," he sings in the video, which uses a strip club and its performers as a metaphor for this concept, with a seedy, pig-faced owner overseeing the dancers.

Much like the context of the song, Duff did a little moral compromising by making an adults-only version of the video for OnlyFans. The videos for his past bops, like "Girly" and "Rich," kept it PG. It wasn't until "Hokie Pokie" in 2020 that he began to let more flesh show.

He seems to live in an artistic space that celebrates sexuality beyond the fourth wall. He knows how to exploit the viewer's lust without being pornographic. It's a successful tactic, and gets him "likes"; however it keeps him from entering the mainstream, a realm Duff has yet to break into.

"I ultimately was like we are six years into this and nobody's opening the door for me," Duff says confidently. "I'm only getting older. So let me do something cool. This existing music video, just make another cut of it, show a little more, post some pictures that you know Instagram would take down."

Posting on OnlyFans isn't Duff's main focus; he is a talented singer with great range and artistic vision, something that has only gotten more refined since he got away from the restraints of abusing alcohol. He has been alcohol-free for six years, and it freed his need to control everything.

"I think stopping drinking changed the way I operated; it became a little more routine, and actually quite a bit more collaborative. It was more fun for me to go sit with other producers and writers and people, and come up with it together," he says. "So, you know what they say about addiction: It's a substitution for connection. Yeah. So, I've been able to maintain my creativity and get things done through connection, and it's probably been a driving force in keeping me clean."

Duff is still very active in the creative process for every video. He lays out the treatments, which are typically a series of image and movie references.

"If you think you're making something new, you just don't know what you're doing," Duff contends, suggesting that originality has become a form of imitation. "Everything's been done. So, you know, you pull pictures that represent the lighting, and you pull pictures that represent the shot. I bring in people who are very good at what they do. 'Be Your Girl' and 'Stick Up' are both entirely queer teams of people, which has been such an awesome thing for me to be able to do."

Duff says his pronouns are he/him, and he has a boyfriend. That would make him a part of the LGBTQ+ community, but Duff's not about labels.

"That's what I am, you know, to make it easy for everyone," he says. "I find the boxes get a little dangerous for all of us. Why place such limitations on your life?"

But some freedoms are lost when you're in a relationship. What did his boyfriend think of him appearing in the buff for "Stick Up"?

"Hates," he says. "You know, he looked at it, and it's very artsy and cool. And honestly, if you watch the video, it's kind of funny."

Duff doesn't think there is shame in professional nudity for cash on an adult content platform. But he does say that for some gay artists it's viewed as a nail in their coffin. Whether the same is true for heterosexual creators or women he can't say, but he believes gay guys already have some moral judgment against them from the establishment, "so they're looking for an even more cookie-cutter version of a person."

Duff is aware of the stigma around doing sexually explicit content, and he doesn't have any plans of going into the industry, but he jokingly says he's willing to do something morally compromising to get to the next level. So far, that hasn't happened.

His latest album, "Greatest Hits," is an aggregated sample of his artistic range. From the funky musical theater vibe of "Forgotten How to F**k" to the heartfelt swagger of "Nobody to Love," there should be no reason he hasn't landed on the contemporary charts. He feels differently about that.

"I came out the gate with the song 'Girly' and the video, and it went viral," he says. "And I had a very strong image and brand. That was not all of me, clearly, as I've continued to express myself, but it has limited me, right? We live in a social media algorithm world. So I can put out a beautiful adult contemporary album like I did this year, but my audience wants to see me in a belly shirt, do dance music. And so, because I have nothing to support me, no one to get me in front of the right people, essentially, I have to keep feeding the beast."

Now that his album is out and he's entered OnlyFans, Duff is taking some time for himself. He says he is interested in bodybuilding and possibly participating professionally; he already has a coach. But he is hoping that "Stick Up" will be successful.

"So, there's part of me that says, 'Hey, if this thing takes off, we're ready to go'," he chuckles. "If it doesn't take off, I'm taking a nap."