You probably already know OnionPlay by reputation. It is a free streaming aggregator that pulls together movies and TV shows across the web and serves them to you for free.
This illegal platform grew a community around it. Here, people traded links, fixes, and the occasional suggestion. That community lived mainly on Discord.
But MPA decided to take that community offline and use legal tools to try to unmask the person running it
Origins and growth of OnionPlay
This streaming provider made its debut roughly 2019. Over the next years, this illegal web app built a user base by offering a wide variety of movies and television shows for free.
Because it functions outside traditional licensing frameworks, OnionPlay periodically changes domain names to avoid blocking or legal pressure. That domain-hopping became part of how the site tried to survive ongoing enforcement efforts.
Over time, the maintainers also built a community around the site, offering news of new links, support, and sometimes social interaction via Discord. That community is responsible for creating user loyalty and giving OnionPlay a de facto social component, beyond mere streaming links.
By 2024–2025, OnionPlay had established itself as a recognizable brand in pirate-streaming circles. Many users rely on it for newly released content.
The shutdown of the Discord channel
The first significant disruption came at the end of October 2025. Without notice, Discord deletes OnionPlay’s main community server.
That takedown erased two years of community-building work almost overnight. Yet the operator didn’t give up. Within two weeks, they spun up a new Discord channel, signaling that the community tried to rebound quickly.
Simultaneously, OnionPlay changed its main domain. Around November 12, the site moved from a “.mx” domain variant to a “.bz” domain. The switch appeared to be part of its standard strategy to evade blocking or shutdowns.
MPA issues a DMCA subpoena to Discord
On the 14th of November, this authority filed a request for a DMCA subpoena against Discord. This was on behalf of a member studio whose content was on the site.
The notice claimed that infringing links had been posted in OnionPlay’s now-deleted server. It further requested that Discord disable access. Here are the specifics:
- Discord should disclose identifying information such as names, physical addresses, email addresses, IP addresses, and phone numbers of the user behind the Discord User ID 417142124228771850, which rightsholders link to “TexasHomie.”
- Two example links, one purporting to lead to an illicit stream of the season-2 finale of Peacemaker, and another leading to a movie titled Weapons.
A court clerk authorized it on November 17, giving Discord until November 28 to comply with the request.
Who is the MPA, and what are they after?
The MPA, acronym for Motion Picture Association, represents various major creators like Warner Bros, and acts as the enforcement arm. It works via its anti-piracy coalition, Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).
In the OnionPlay case, the target is not just the website or its domain; it’s the person behind it.
Rather than solely attacking infrastructure (domains, hosting, CDN), rightsholders are investing in tracking who runs those infrastructures. This raises the stakes significantly for operators like “TexasHomie.”
“TexasHomie” the Operator in the Crosshairs
According to reporting, the MPA links the Discord User ID 417142124228771850 to the alias “TexasHomie,” which it believes belongs to OnionPlay’s operator.
When approached for comment, “TexasHomie” told TorrentFreak that he had no prior knowledge that the takedown was triggered by the MPA, nor had he been informed about the subpoena.
He claimed to keep his online and offline identities strictly separate, and to rely on VPNs and other privacy tools: “the usual precautions when you spend enough years around the internet and IT infrastructure.”
He said:
“I’ve dealt with plenty of takedown notices and all the usual headaches, but when you work with the right hosting providers and understand how the infrastructure works, you learn how to manage things calmly and professionally.”
He described OnionPlay more as an “old-school passion project” than a big operation, though a high-stakes one, if his identity becomes exposed.
Notably, this is not the first time rightsholders have tried to unmask OnionPlay. Previous subpoenas targeted Cloudflare and the “.to” registry, but those efforts reportedly failed.
If this subpoena yields actionable records, it could mark the first time “TexasHomie” becomes traceable under real identity.
Will Discord reveal the identity of “TexasHomie”?
Maybe. Based on how Discord has acted in recent high-profile disputes, you should assume Discord won’t hand over identifying data without a fight.
Discord is likely to resist overbroad demands for several practical and policy reasons:
- Public stance and legal posture. In the Nexon dispute (a high-profile DMCA subpoena over alleged piracy), Discord publicly rejected the notion of acting as an “anti-piracy police” and signaled it would challenge requests that it considers burdensome or unconstitutional. The firm argued some demands could implicate First Amendment anonymity protections.
- User trust and reputation. Discord builds its platform on user anonymity and private communities; exposing identities from every request would damage trust and invite user backlash.
- Technical and retention limits. Even if this community app wants to comply, what it can hand over depends on what it has in its servers. If TexasHomie uses VPNs, short-lived burner accounts, or deletes messages, the logs will not contain a clean identity.
Has Discord ever disclosed such details previously?
Yes. Rights holders and law enforcement have successfully obtained Discord data in several cases where the court process produced a clear, limited subpoena.
For instance, there were subpoenas tied to major leaks and leaks-of-unreleased content. Netflix and Nintendo have sought Discord records in past leak investigations.
Bottomline
What happens next will set a precedent for how rightsholders pursue piracy.
Pseudonymity and domain-hopping will be less reliable defenses than ever. What counts now is the real-world traceability of operators.