Teen Influencer Piper Rockelle's OnlyFans - Launch Ignites Debate After '$2.9M' Haul

Piper Rockelle, an 18-year-old influencer who built a global following on YouTube as a child, has sparked fierce controversy after launching an OnlyFans account on New Year's Day 2026.

The former child star shared screenshots claiming she earned $2,927,313 (approximately £2.3 million) in gross earnings in her first 24 hours on the platform on Thursday, with most of the income coming from subscriptions.

'My first day! Forever grateful,' she wrote in a now-deleted X post. But the record-breaking figures have been overshadowed by a darker conversation: whether Rockelle's transition to adult content was the inevitable result of alleged grooming by the adults who profited from her childhood fame.

The debate centres on serious allegations against her mother and manager, Tiffany Smith, detailed in both a 2022 lawsuit and an April 2025 Netflix docuseries.

Messages and tips also contributed to her total gross pay. Responding to an X user who reposted the screenshot, Rockelle said: 'Never in a million years did I expect this to happen, you guys changed my life.'

The 'Grooming' Allegations and Netflix Fallout

The debate surrounding Rockelle's new venture is inextricably linked to her controversial upbringing. In April 2025, the Netflix docuseries Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing detailed a litany of allegations against her mother and manager, Tiffany Smith. The series followed a 2022 lawsuit settled for $1.85 million in October 2024, in which 11 members of 'The Squad' accused Smith of creating an emotionally and physically abusive environment.

Advocates point to this history as evidence that Rockelle was 'groomed' for this transition from a young age.

Reports from the lawsuit included claims that Smith had encouraged sexualised behaviour and even allegedly mailed the influencer's soiled undergarments to adult men when she was still a minor.

Despite these harrowing claims, Rockelle has remained staunchly loyal to her mother, dismissing the documentary as a 'false narrative' in a recent interview with Rolling Stone and insisting that her move to OnlyFans was an independent business decision made upon turning 18.

Record-Breaking Figures or Marketing Mirage?

While the $2.9 million figure has dominated headlines, industry sceptics have questioned the authenticity of the screenshots. Rockelle's transition was preceded by a stint on BrandArmy and collaborations with the Bop House, a content collective known for its high-earning adult creators, including Sophie Rain, lending some weight to the possibility of a massive initial surge.

The financial success of her launch has reignited the 'nepo-influencer' debate, with many questioning the ethics of a platform that allows creators to monetise a fanbase they built as children. For Rockelle, the move is a definitive break from her 'kidfluencer' past.

As 2026 begins, her record-breaking debut serves as a stark case study of the evolving, often murky realities of child stardom in the age of subscription-based intimacy.

Mother's Defence and Rockelle's Loyalty

Smith has consistently denied all allegations made in the lawsuit and in the Netflix Tudum Biography.

In a statement to People magazine, she explained the settlement decision: 'Piper is a minor and has already been through a great deal of unnecessary and harmful scrutiny. So we prioritised mental health and made the decision to put this behind us.'

Rockelle has remained staunchly defensive of her mother, telling critics: 'You know where I live. Come get me if you want to save me. If you want to 'Save Piper,' stop talking please. Because by hurting my mother, you're hurting a part of me.' She characterised the lawsuit and documentary as a 'false narrative' and described the allegations as "extremely painful and, honestly, hard to understand.'

The case has highlighted the largely unregulated nature of child influencer work, with traditional protections for child actors in film and television not applying to YouTube content creation. In September 2024, California passed two laws offering child influencers financial protections, including requirements to set aside a percentage of earnings in trust accounts.

For Rockelle, it marks a clean break from her child-star identity. For the internet watching her, it raises a more complex question: what responsibility does an industry have when childhood fame becomes adult commerce?