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.

Madonna has been leading the public conversation about masturbation since before some of y'all were born. During her iconic Blonde Ambition tour in 1991, Madonna regularly simulated masturbation on stage while performing her mega-hit "Like a Virgin." When she performed in Toronto, the police threatened to arrest her if she pretended to pleasure herself during the song, and Madonna pretty much told them to f*** off.

A year later, Madonna released a coffee table book simply titled "Sex." The book included artistic photographs of all sorts of people, including Madonna herself, engaging in different kinds of sexual activities. One of the most controversial pictures featured Madonna standing next to a mirror watching herself masturbate. When a 60 Minutes Australia reporter told her the picture was "horrible" and that it frightened him, Madonna boldly fired back that perhaps he was frightened because he couldn't tolerate the idea of women who could pleasure themselves without a man.

Since then, Madonna has continued to be completely honest about her sex life, including how much she loves to masturbate, and she's truly our hero for it.

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."

Though Amber Rose rocketed into the spotlight when she collabed with and then dated Kanye West, she's never just been "someone's girlfriend." Rose's pleasure has never relied on anyone else; she has been an icon of sex positivity for almost a decade, an outspoken advocate of women's pleasure, masturbation, and being an unapologetic sl*t.

In 2015, she started the Sl*twalk, a march to protest rape culture focused on erasing the victim-blaming narrative that survivors are "asking for it." The march has since become a multi-day conference focused on creating sexual agency for marginalized people.

With all that sex-positive energy surrounding her, it's no surprise that Rose talks about masturbation ... a lot. In an interview with Vice to discuss her line of sex toys, Rose said that masturbation is the best way to have good sex because it teaches you what you need to do to orgasm. She added that she masturbates "whenever the mood strikes" and that she considers it a self-care practice. And honestly, #selfcaregoals.

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.

For the past several years, Jessica Biel has been on a mission to make sure people have all the information they need to make informed choices about their sex lives, and that the information is presented in a sex-positive, shame-free way. To fulfill this mission, the actress started a sex education organization called Tryst Network, which served as a hub for sexual health questions and answers.

As part of her partnership with Tryst Network, Biel starred in a few short videos promoting self-pleasure. In one video, Biel and her partner each take some special alone time. Biel spends the time eating a massive cheeseburger, drinking a cocktail, and suggestively eyeing her vibrator while her partner gets down with himself in a bubble bath. In another, Biel and Comedienne Chelsea Handler discuss the benefits of looking at your own genitals to better understand what you're working with.

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.

Shy and modest are not the words anyone would use to describe Cardi B. She's brazen, bold, and proud of her sensuality. She's honest about the fact that she used to be a sex worker and doesn't think that's a bad thing (she's right). She unabashedly talks about sex and pleasure on social media all the time, and as she said in an interview with Hot 97's Ebro In The Morning, if people are uncomfortable with that it's their problem, not hers.

Cardi is also a huge proponent of masturbation, especially when it involves sex toys. The video for her banger "Up" featured Cardi lovingly cradling a Vush magic wand vibrator, which she later sang the praises of in an Instagram video. She's also a huge fan of Bellesa's vibrators and dildos, which she regularly promotes on her Instagram page. When the company gifted her a wide variety of their sex toys for her 28th birthday, Cardi revealed that she gave most of them out as party favors to facilitate her friends' self-pleasure, but kept her favorites for herself.

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.

Like Lovato, British pop star and author Lily Allen also created her own sex toy — the Liberty by Womanizer — as part of her campaign to normalize masturbation and female pleasure. Allen told Rolling Stone that she used to be one of the nearly 33% of women who don't masturbate at all. She attributes this to the notions that "female pleasure in itself is a taboo subject" and that we live in "a society that caters overwhelmingly to male pleasure."

Allen went on to say that she didn't really know anything about how to pleasure herself and had trouble orgasming before she discovered sex toys. Her rocky experiences with her own pleasure are part of the reason why Allen is so adamant about creating a public conversation about masturbation. She believes that destigmatizing both solo sex and female pleasure is essential to people with vaginas getting the information they need to create their own pleasure.

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.

In her memoir, "We're Gonna Need More Wine," Gabrielle Union revealed a lot of personal information, not the least of which was that she discovered masturbation at five years old. BET reported that Union's sexual awakening involved rubbing up against her stuffed animals. She also revealed that even though she knew she liked the feeling, she had no idea what was really happening until several years later.

When she did figure it out, masturbation became a regular part of Union's life, and she's not afraid to share that. In an appearance on CONAN on TBS, she revealed that she's a big fan of taking "alone time", joking that she doesn't like to call it masturbation. She explained, "I think 'masturbate' sounds so clinical, and you know what, it doesn't really sound that fun. But it is! So you have to come up with something that indicates the joy that one can have with oneself."

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!

The fact that Xtina's was relentlessly sl*t-shamed for her "Dirrty" phase is a perfect example of how harshly society treats sexually empowered women. But even that massive amount of public judgment didn't stop Christina Aguilera from becoming a sexual explorer.

In a recent appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, Aguilera got into serious detail about her sexuality, including her love for masturbation. She told host Alex Cooper that she learned about masturbation when she was pretty young, the same way that most people with vaginas do — by rubbing up against something. Aguilera said that as she got older, she used masturbation as a way to explore her own body and find out what made her feel good, and sex toys became a huge part of that. The singer/songwriter revealed that she used to carry a small vibrator with her wherever she went and that whenever the urge struck, she masturbated, even mid-flight. Talk about dedication to meeting your own needs.

Aguilera is also the co-founder of Playground, a sexual wellness company that sells personal lubricants and educates people about finding their own sexual pleasure.

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?"

These days it seems like every celeb has their own line of sex toys. But Alicia Silverstone (Cher Horowitz herself) was way ahead of the trend. All the way back in 2012, Silverstone partnered with the sex toy company Swan to promote its eco-friendly vibrator, the Leaf.

In an interview with Broadway.com to promote her role in the racy play "The Performers," which is set at an adult film awards show, Silverstone explained that the makers of the Leaf vibrator found her because they both had shops on the eco-friendly shopping hub Open Sky. 

The actress also revealed that the design of the Leaf appealed to her because many of the sex toys on the market kind of intimidated her. Silverstone told the outlet, "We were in rehearsal [for "The Performers"] and there was a big black dildo in the background, and I was like, "What on earth?" This thing was so huge, and I didn't understand for the life of me how that would ever be used by any human being. "

The dainty Leaf vibrators, on the other hand, were perfect for Silverstone.

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.

Actress Halle Berry is so passionate about destigmatizing conversations about sex that she started hosting a live Q&A session on social media called "Bad and Booshy." During these sessions, hosted on Facebook and Instagram Live, Berry sat down with her best friend and stylist Lindsay Flores to talk all things sex and pleasure, and answer fans' most intimate questions.

In one episode of the show, a fan asked the ladies when they had their first orgasm. After Flores admitted that she didn't remember her first orgasm, Berry revealed that she had her first orgasm at age 11 during a steamy masturbation session. She said that she started experimenting with masturbation when she was a tween and stressed that it was completely normal for girls to explore what feels good in their bodies around that age.

That wasn't the first time Berry was vocal about her love of self-pleasure though. LA's hottest sex toy store, The Pleasure Chest, quoted Berry as saying, "Make regular visits to The Pleasure Chest! You can't forget your sexuality."

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."

More than a decade before Steinfeld's self-pleasure banger dropped, the Queen of Pop herself, Britney Jean Spears released the single "Touch of My Hand." Spears' public image had always walked the line between innocent and in her own words "not that innocent," and when "Touch of My Hand" dropped, she seemed to confirm that she was firmly on the "not that innocent" side of the line, at least in the eyes of the public.

But when Diane Sawyer confronted Spears about the meaning behind the song and her thoughts on masturbation in a 2003 interview, Britney refuted the assertion that singing about masturbation, or doing it, was scandalous or risque. The singer told Sawyer, "It's a reality that we have ... Yes, I can relate to that song, and like, we all can. You'd be lying if you said you couldn't."

She went on to say that self-pleasure is "sacred" and there's nothing wrong with it. Preach, girl.

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."

Molly Shannon built her career on raunchy comedy, but she wasn't always so confident about her sexuality. In an interview with Conan O'Brien, Shannon talked about her Catholic upbringing and the one so-called sin she always admitted to in the confessional — masturbation.

The actress and comedian told O'Brien, "I would always go 'Father forgive me for I have sinned. I masturbated this week ... But then I would go in again the week after that and I'd be like 'I'm sorry Father. Forgive me. I masturbated again."

Shannon went on to say that she confessed to masturbating nearly every week, and each time, she wondered whether pleasuring herself was really a sin. She said that she struggled with it for a long time because she didn't think she was doing anything wrong, but the religion she was raised in taught her that masturbation was a sin.

Since then, Shannon's views have obviously changed, and now she's a vocal advocate for female pleasure, especially self-pleasure.