21 Celebs Who Don't Hide Their Love Of Self-Pleasure (Why Should They?)

Masturbation is a completely normal part of healthy sexuality, but when it comes to people with vaginas, there's still a lot of stigma around self-pleasure. Unfortunately, America's Puritanical beginnings still play a major role in society's attitudes toward masturbation. Some of us have been told some pretty messed up myths and lies about masturbation, and even if we know those things aren't true, those thoughts can linger into adulthood, casting a shadow of shame on something that is natural, healthy, and positive.

That's why it's so important to talk about masturbation and how there's nothing wrong or shameful about it, how good it is for our health (seriously, there are studies), and how everybody does it! In our personal lives, we can start to break down some of this stigma by talking about masturbation openly and honestly with our partners and friends. But smashing societal stigma takes more than private conversations.

Sex experts told Yahoo Life that celebrities have the social and cultural power to normalize masturbation, and many of them are doing just that. From sharing their experiences with masturbation publicly to starting their own sex toy lines, these celebrities are using their voices to smash masturbation stigma.

Though Gwyneth Paltrow hasn't always been as open as Madonna about sex and masturbation, she's still been a major part of the cultural conversation around sex for over a decade. Her famed wellness brand, Goop, launched a sex toy shop in the early 2010s. In 2016, Goop published its first-ever "Sex Issue" in which Paltrow highlighted the benefits of masturbation, while also promoting a $15,000 solid gold dildo.

Since then, sex and masturbation have been regular topics for both Paltrow and Goop. As the LA Times points out, not all of Paltrow's sexual health tips are evidence-based, or even good. But she shamelessly promotes self-pleasure at every turn, which is crucial to changing public views of masturbation.

Paltrow also earns major points for using her privilege and institutional power to educate people about sexual pleasure. Not many people could get away with showing female genitals and close-ups of a woman masturbating in a Netflix series, but Paltrow used her clout to pull it off in "The Pleasure Is Ours" episode of "The Goop Lab."

Actress and model Cara Delevigne perfectly outlined why it's so crucial to openly talk about masturbation in an interview with Stellar Magazine, as reported by the Daily Mail. She told the outlet "When I was young, if you were a girl who masturbated, that was rough, that was gross. So girls are just masturbating in private." Delevingne went on to say that there's a "global stigma" around women's sexuality.

To fight that stigma, Delevigne uses the platform fame has afforded her to educate people about pleasure, and she doesn't shy away from talking about her sexuality. Delevigne's biggest sex education project, a BBC show called "Planet Sex," launched in late 2022. The show chronicles Delevigne's journey to find out as much as she can about sex and includes footage of Delevigne and others attending a masturbation seminar hosted by sex educator Lola Jean. And yes, Delevigne masturbates on camera, though it's not explicitly shown.

Delevigne's willingness to put her own sexuality out there and take all the criticism that comes with that helps to normalize sexuality and self-pleasure.

Chelsea Handler's work with Jessica Biel's Tryst Network was far from the beginning of her advocacy for self-pleasure. The comedienne is famous for sharing intimate details of her sexual experiences both in her books and in her standup routines.

One of those experiences, as she related to Playboy, was learning to masturbate at the age of eight, while at a sleepover with her friends. However, Handler told the magazine that masturbation wasn't a part of her adult life. She explained that she didn't have the time or energy and that she'd rather just orgasm with a partner when she was in the mood.

Since then, though, Handler has changed her perspective and become a vocal supporter of masturbation. In a 2020 interview, Handler revealed that when she was trying to develop a meditation habit, she'd sometimes get bored and just masturbate instead. "They both start with m, and your brain lets you relax after each one, so who cares?" she added. And honestly, we can get down with that vibe.

Cardi B isn't the only celeb who loves taking some solo sex time with a Bellesa sex toy. Singer/songwriter Demi Lovato partnered with Bellesa in 2021 to launch their own gender-neutral sex toy, The Demi Wand. In a press release about the partnership, Lovato candidly said, "There is nothing more empowering than taking your pleasure into your own hands. We have spent far too long pretending we are not sexual beings — it's time for us to put this stigma to rest."

Lovato, who literally grew up in the spotlight as a Disney star and had a very religious upbringing, told the LA Times that they've had a difficult time processing their sexuality and relationship to sex and pleasure. It took them a long time, and a lot of confusion. Lovato explained that their hit song "Heaven" is about their reckoning with religion and sexuality, which led them to become the voice for sexual empowerment and self-pleasure that they are today. Now, masturbation is part of Lovato's self-care routine, and they encourage others to add it to theirs.

For the past five years, Jada Pinkett Smith has been using her web series "Red Table Talk" to have raw, honest conversations about some of life's most intimate topics. In one of the earliest episodes, entitled "Let's Talk About Sex," Pinkett Smith sat down with her mother, daughter, and her daughter's best friend to do exactly what the episode's title said.

During their conversation, Pinkett Smith revealed that her family has always been very open about sex. Pinkett Smith's grandmother taught her about masturbation when she was just nine so that she would know that men aren't responsible for female pleasure, and that she was capable of creating her own. Even though Pinkett Smith was exposed to more sex-positive messages, she still struggled with that same fear and shame because of societal beliefs around the topic. 

She shared that masturbation, sex toys, and educating herself about the naturalness of female pleasure helped her overcome that fear and shame. Now, she uses her story to educate others so they can learn that sex and masturbation aren't anything to be scared or ashamed of.

Though it may be hard to believe given her character's sexual exploits on "Desperate Housewives," Eva Longoria used to be one of the 10-15% of women who'd never had an orgasm. In an interview with Cosmopolitan Magazine, Longoria confirmed that she went years without ever having an orgasm and that she only climaxed for the first time when she used a vibrator.

Longoria told the outlet that she encourages everyone to masturbate because "you get better at sex when you know your own body." She added, "How are you going to expect a man to know your body when you don't know what pleases you? It's really important to have a healthy sexuality and to be open about it. It's not a taboo. It's normal."

Because of her positive experience with sex toys and her strong belief in the benefits of masturbation, Longoria has been known to often give her friends vibrators and dildos as gifts. Sounds like the best kind of best friend to us!

Actress Bella Thorne has made sex positivity a cornerstone of her career. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Thorne explained that she understands the societal and institutional power that fame has given her, and she wants to use it to change the way society views sex, female pleasure, and sex work. She envisions a world where female pleasure and masturbation aren't shrouded in shame, where all people can find empowerment in their own pleasure.

Thorne told the outlet, "Women have been so uncomfortable due to the stigma that's been put on them when it comes to sex that we don't want to touch our own bodies, or are scared to buy a vibrator because people will think we're a 'slut' or 'dirty.' These things aren't right."

She's also very transparent about her own sexuality and vocal about the fact that she definitely masturbates. When a video that supposedly showed her masturbating went viral, Thorne's only response was "Hahahahaha wait you guys think this is real? Hahahaha. I don't even masterbate [sic] like that. Where's the vibrator thooo?"

When Mel B, better known as Scary Spice of the Spice Girls, found out that the majority of ciswomen don't have an orgasm during sex, she was appalled. ABS-CBN News reported that the former Spice Girl told Closer Magazine that "Having a good sex life is absolutely essential in my opinion."

Mel B then divulged her secret to an amazing sex life: her Pocket Rocket vibrator. She explained that one of the reasons she loves sex toys so much is because they're the perfect addition to sex with your partner, but they're also great for solo sex. For her, a vibrator "does the trick every time."

However, Mel B's love for the Pocket Rocket may have faded over time. A few years ago, The Sun reported that Mel B was working on her own line of sex toys because she was disappointed with the selection available in the UK market. Though that project hasn't come to fruition yet, a line of "cheeky, sassy" vibrators may still be in Mel B's future.

Actor and singer Hailee Steinfeld caused a stir in 2015 when she released her first hit single, "Love Myself." Pretty much everyone who read the lyrics assumed the song was about self-pleasure. With lines like "Know how to satisfy, keepin' that tempo right/Without you, yeah (hey!)/Pictures in my mind on replay/I'm gonna touch the pain away (hey!)/I know how to scream my own name," what else could the song be about? Not to mention that bodysuit in the video — the one that read "Self Service."

Though it seemed obvious that Steinfeld had written an ode to masturbation, the singer was hesitant to admit it. After talking around the question in multiple interviews, Steinfeld finally told Rookie Mag, "It is what it is. I have nothing to be ashamed of ... The song is ultimately about taking care of you, whether that means physically or emotionally. That's not to say it's not nice to have someone provide for you, but the song represents how much power there is in providing for yourself."

In our society, older people, especially older women, aren't necessarily painted as sexual. But Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin challenged that norm big time with their hit series "Grace and Frankie." Their characters, whose husbands left them to be with each other, explicitly explore their sexualities on the show, which includes an entire storyline about the duo starting a sex toy company for older women.

Of course, everyone wanted to know what Fonda and Tomlin actually thought about masturbation, especially as older women in Hollywood. Luckily, neither woman shied away from the subject in interviews. Tomlin told the Washington Post that she'd been vocal about using sex toys since the 1980s.

Fonda added, "You may be old, you may be in your third act, but you can still be vital and sexual and funny ... Life isn't over... [Masturbation] is especially useful for older women, because men die sooner than we do. And so: Use it or lose it."