Piper Rockelle, once a bubbly child star on YouTube, has catapulted herself into a new—and controversial—spotlight as 2026 dawns. On January 1, the now 18-year-old influencer launched her OnlyFans account, and by the end of her first 24 hours, she claimed to have earned a staggering $2.9 million. The internet, predictably, erupted.
Rockelle’s journey into the adult-oriented subscription platform marks a dramatic shift from her early days as a family-friendly content creator. According to The Independent, she first gained fame at just eight years old, making playful YouTube videos with her mother, Tiffany Smith. Over the years, her audience ballooned, and her social media presence expanded to include over 12.2 million YouTube subscribers, 18.6 million TikTok followers, and 7 million Instagram fans, as reported by BollywoodShaadis.
Her OnlyFans debut was anything but subtle. In a now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) post, Rockelle shared a screenshot of her day-one earnings, exclaiming, “My first day! Forever grateful.” The breakdown: nearly $900,000 from subscriptions, close to $300,000 from messages, and over $60,000 in tips—amounting to $2.34 million, with later posts citing a grand total of $2.9 million by the end of the day. “We broke the record!!! $1,000,000 in less than an hour, you guys are the best, thank you for changing my life,” she wrote, as cited by BollywoodShaadis.
Her announcement instantly set off a firestorm online. Some praised Rockelle for her business acumen, noting her ability to turn a massive following into serious cash. Others, however, expressed deep concern about the implications for her young fan base. One X user, quoted by BollywoodShaadis, remarked, “Kind of disturbing people follow child YouTubers and wait for the day they join OF.”
The debate didn’t end there. Skeptics quickly emerged, questioning the authenticity of Rockelle’s reported windfall. Fellow influencer Jameliz Smith publicly accused Rockelle of faking her earnings screenshot, pointing to a missing dollar sign in one of the figures as evidence of a “rookie mistake.” Smith’s pointed message: “Hey Piper, I know you’re following the footsteps of your homegirl Sophie Rain, faking statements and whatnot, but unfortunately for you, her Photoshop was just a little bit better. If you look right here, at the end of the message’s revenue, you left the dollar sign off. I know, it’s a rookie mistake, but you know what? I think you should ask her to help you next time, since she has a lot of experience in doing sht like this. Good luck, you two!”
Despite the swirling controversy, Rockelle seemed unfazed. She responded on social media with a cheeky retort: “Don’t hate the player… hate the game.” Her determination to own her narrative was clear. In another now-deleted X post, she reflected, “Never in a million years did I expect this to happen, you guys changed my life.” She also remarked, “YouTube never paid me like this does,” highlighting the stark difference in earnings between her old and new platforms.
Rockelle’s transition to OnlyFans comes after years of growing up under the public eye—and in the shadow of scandal. Her mother, Tiffany Smith, was a driving force behind Rockelle’s early success, founding The Squad (later known as the Piper Squad), a collaborative group of young creators who produced skits, vlogs, and challenges. But the cheerful façade cracked in 2022, when 11 former Squad members filed a lawsuit against Smith, alleging “emotional, verbal, physical, and at times, sexual abuse” during their time creating content. As The Independent and BollywoodShaadis both report, Smith denied all wrongdoing, and the case was settled out of court in October 2024 for $1.8 million (some reports cite $2 million).
This saga was thrust into the mainstream by Netflix’s 2025 documentary, Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, which examined the pressures and pitfalls of child stardom in the digital age. Although Rockelle herself declined to participate in the documentary, she has consistently defended her mother, stating, “She did not do any of those things that they said. And I’ll stand by my mom to the end.”
The OnlyFans launch, then, is not just a business move—it’s a statement of independence. Now legally an adult, Rockelle is charting her own course, for better or worse. Her OnlyFans bio, as cited by The Independent, reads: “Everyone told me not to do this but here we are… time to take it ALL OFF for you bbys.” In a tongue-in-cheek Instagram video with her grandmother before the launch, she predicted she’d make $2 million on her first day. After hitting her target and then some, Rockelle even used a portion of her earnings to buy her grandmother a car, a gesture her supporters celebrated.
But the backlash has been fierce and unrelenting. Critics argue that Rockelle’s move could have troubling effects on her young followers, who have watched her grow up online. The debate touches on broader concerns about the transition from child influencer to adult content creator—a path fraught with both opportunity and risk. In a TikTok video posted on January 2, 2026, Rockelle pushed back against accusations of exploitation, turning the criticism back on her detractors: “You guys cannot convince me that I’m the gross one. Tell me why every single one of my search bars is, ‘Piper Rockelle unblurred photos, Piper Rockelle link photos, Piper Rockelle a* pics.’ Y’all are so quick to hate it, yet so fast to search that s–t up. Who’s the real gross one? You.”
For all the controversy, Rockelle’s story is emblematic of the new realities facing Gen Z influencers. The line between public and private life is blurrier than ever, and the leap from child star to adult entrepreneur can be both lucrative and perilous. As the dust settles, one thing is certain: Piper Rockelle has everyone talking, and her next move will be watched by millions—fans and critics alike.
In a digital world where fame is both a gift and a curse, Rockelle’s headline-grabbing OnlyFans debut is a testament to the power—and peril—of growing up online.
