(NewsNation) — Rae Richmond was outed by members of her hometown community after leaving her legal job to join OnlyFans, a platform known for adult content.

Richmond, 56, left her job due to dissatisfaction. The decision has brought financial success but also a wave of judgment and criticism on social media as friends and neighbors discovered her online presence.

“For my part, I feel like they don’t really understand what is going on,” she said. “A lot of people attach a stigma to it that really I personally don’t feel should exist.”

Richmond joined “On Balance With Leland Vittert” to discuss her experience, revealing that she decided to join OnlyFans with her boyfriend after going through a divorce.

“I think it’s creative self-expression,” she said. “I mean, that’s what it is for me. I’m 56 years old. I wouldn’t have even thought about doing this myself up until about a year ago.”

Despite using a stage name on OnlyFans, others connected her real and fake name, outing her to the community.

“I just know that one day, people back in my hometown, I come from a really small town, and they started posting about it on social media,” she said. “And some people were tagging my real name and my fake name.”

Richmond said she understands why others would not want to do what she did, but doesn’t “understand the judgment.”

She expressed surprise and disappointment at the negative reactions from those in her hometown.

“I feel like that people do tend to judge and especially when it’s something they don’t understand,” she said.

Richmond aims to challenge the stigma associated with OnlyFans and encourage a more open-minded perspective for those choosing alternative paths for financial success.

“I’m just a regular person who started filming with my boyfriend, and we decided to go public with it,” she said. “So I’m not ashamed of it, and I want to make that clear.”