I see the money earned question as similar to people who work in MLM schemes. Yes, few people can do very well. Often they got in early, but they also inevitably work had and have good business sense, and some good luck too.
Most people don't have that outcome, a lot get taken for a ride
It's more common that some people working in sex related jobs do ok financially and don't seem to suffer terribly in the ways you might expect and see it as worth it. Lots of people might know someone who works as a stripper for a few years and avoids getting drawn in and makes some very good money without becoming rich.
Those scenarios are really both a small % of that work, and it's still usually statistically risky work because of the environments involved. But there is no point denying those examples exist.
However, even in cases where there is a good financial reward, that is not equivalent to being empowered. I don't really know many people who would say that any work which pays well is empowering, and that alone makes it suspicious when people try and say that in these instances.