Piper Rockelle's OnlyFans Earnings Highlight the Dark Side of 'Kidfluencing'

For years, Piper Rockelle has been an unwilling poster child for the dangers of internet stardom, and her latest parlay into OnlyFans fame might be everything those who sounded the alarm feared.

Rockelle, who had amassed millions of followers before she even hit double digits, turned 18 in August and four months later, on December 31, began counting down the hours until her OnlyFans debut.

Within an hour of posting the link to her OnlyFans account on January 1, Rockelle posted a screenshot of her earnings on X, claiming to have made $2.3 million in net earnings. “My first day!” she tweeted. “Forever grateful.”

Rockelle was 8 years old when her mother, Tiffany Smith, launched her daughter’s social media career. By age 10, Rockelle was leading a group of child social media influencers known as Piper Rockelle and the Squad.

Smith and her boyfriend, Hunter Hill, began producing multiple videos for the teens each day, which included dances, viral challenges, and most controversially, staged romances between the tweens. Online, many raised concerns about the apparent sexual nature of some of the content, but followers and brand deals kept rolling in.

In 2022, 11 former members of the Squad filed a lawsuit against Smith and Hill, accusing them of not sufficiently paying members. The lawsuit also accused Smith specifically of “emotional, verbal, physical, and at times, sexual abuse.” It was settled in 2024, but the following year, Netflix released the documentary series Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, which brought more scrutiny on Rockelle.

In the docuseries, members of The Squad and their parents painted Rockelle as a victim of an exploitative mother, accusing Smith of sacrificing her daughter’s well-being in exchange for fame and followers. Among the allegations was a claim that Smith mailed her daughter’s used underwear to men (a claim Smith denies), sent photos to Rockelle’s “stalker,” and openly insisted that her daughter should be perceived as “slutty” online.

Rockelle and Smith didn’t participate in the docuseries, and Rockelle has largely avoided addressing the allegations against her mother. “It’s been my life for three years. I’ve been asked the same questions and I don’t really think anyone deserves to have the answers besides me and my family and my [future] husband and kids,” she told Teen Vogue in August 2025. “As long as I can sleep easy at night, that’s all that matters.”

However, with the launch of her OnlyFans, social media users are noting that this may be an extension of the exploitation many have feared Rockelle was experiencing.

“Kind of disturbing people follow child YouTubers and pray for the day they do OF,” one user responded to Rockelle’s earnings post. “All the weird men in here happy but what about when she was 17, y’all nasty asses was just waiting for her to be freshly of age,” added another.

Another user said, “Kind of disturbing people follow child YouTubers and pray for the day they do OF.”

Rockelle, though, is ignoring the negative backlash.

“I waited until I was legal, and I made that decision for myself. This wasn’t something I was pressured into. It was about taking control of my own content, my own body, and my own income. People can judge all they want, but I did this on my own terms, and I’m proud of that. I know who I am, and I know what I’m building,” she said in a statement.

“Of course, I saw the comments. People are saying I was groomed or that the subscribers are creeps. Look, I get it. I was a kid on YouTube, and now I’m an adult making adult choices. That shift is uncomfortable for some people. But I’ve grown up in front of the world. I’m not asking for approval. I’m asking for people to respect that I’m not 13 anymore.”