user(); if ($user === null) { abort(403, 'Authentication required.'); } $role = strtolower((string) ($user->role ?? 'user')); $isCreatorRole = in_array($role, ['creator', 'user', 'admin', 'moderator', 'mod'], true); if (! $isCreatorRole || (property_exists($user, 'is_active') && $user->is_active === false)) { abort(403, 'Creator access is required.'); } return $next($request); } }