Piper Rockelle Opens Up About Emotional Fallout From Mom'S Lawsuit

Piper Rockelle Reflects on Family Turmoil

Piper Rockelle is no stranger to the spotlight, but recently, the limelight has brought emotional challenges. In a candid interview with Juju Chang on IMPACT x Nightline, the 18-year-old influencer opened up about her struggles with the backlash her mother, Tiffany Smith, has faced. Smith, who led "The Squad," a team of teen content creators, was sued in 2022 by 11 former members for alleged abusive behavior. Although Smith denied these claims and eventually settled for $1.85 million, the scars remain.

Fighting back tears, Rockelle shared, "It sucks that I have to sit here and, like, talk about this. It's really agitating. Because, like, I just think about my life as, like, such a good thing." Her sentiments were echoed in a Netflix docuseries, "Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing," which delved into the allegations, despite the settlement clearing any liability on her mother's part.

Feeling Responsible

Rockelle expressed a lingering sense of guilt over the situation. "If I could’ve told [Smith] how the world would think of her now and, like, how they would think of her family — it would make her sad. And I feel like it’s my fault a lot," she admitted during the interview. She reflected on how her early entry into the entertainment world may have inadvertently tangled her family in controversy.

“Well, because if I never got into the entertainment space, you know, I think that my mother and my family would have a lot more respect, but because I wanted to do this, you know, it dragged everyone down with me and it just — I don’t know.”

Despite these emotional hurdles, Rockelle continues her journey as a content creator, recently making waves by joining OnlyFans. Though she reportedly made an impressive $3 million in her first 24 hours on the platform, critics questioned whether her presence on a site known for adult content was appropriate, given her young audience.

Thriving Through Adversity

Rockelle addressed the public scrutiny in a Rolling Stone interview in January, stating, "I think that’s understandable. But I’m not going to be a kid forever." She has been candid about how she navigates the mixed perceptions of her varied career choices, even as messages pour in from her younger fans aspiring to be part of the Bop House.

Still, Rockelle remains unfazed by the criticism, telling PEOPLE, "I thrive off of the hate. Honestly, I think hate has kept me around for a long, long, long time. I think, without it, I would have become a little bit irrelevant." This resilience in the face of adversity continues to define her path in the creator economy.