Review: IMPACT x Nightline’s Piper Rockelle: Barely Legal Is Disturbing, Complicated, and Morally Murky
- Brandon West
- 10 hours ago
- 4 min read
IMPACT x Nightline’s Piper Rockelle: Barely Legal, hosted by Juju Chang, sets out to examine one of the internet’s most controversial child stars as she transitions into adulthood. What it delivers is unsettling, provocative, and at times deeply frustrating television.
From the jump, the tone is jarring. The special features footage of Piper participating in what could be described as “sexy” photoshoots; imagery that feels deliberately provocative considering how recently she was a minor. The documentary itself frames her pivot bluntly: “Piper’s move from a child star to sexy OnlyFans model was a shocking success.”
And shocking it is.
Piper claims she made $2.9 million on her first day on OnlyFans, with $1 million of that earned within a single hour. The special even shows her counting down to her 18th birthday — a public “coming of age” moment that doubles as a launchpad for adult content monetization. It’s difficult to watch without feeling uneasy.
The Morality Question
The biggest question hanging over Barely Legal isn’t just about Piper. It’s about the purpose of the documentary itself.
What is the moral thesis here? Is this a cautionary tale? A redemption arc? A business success story? Or simply a ratings grab?
After the success of Netflix’s influencer-focused documentary Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, it’s fair to wonder whether Hulu and Nightline wanted their own Piper-centered moment. Did Piper cooperate to control her narrative? Or was this meant to shine a light on something darker?
The film attempts to explore public discomfort around Piper’s transformation. Some child stars struggle because fans don’t want them to grow up. But in Piper’s case, the concern feels different. The worry has long centered on allegations that she was encouraged by her mother to sexualize herself at a young age for views and profit, and whether that conditioning shaped her adult choices.
Piper insists, “I’m proud of what I am doing right now, believe it or not.”
But pride and provocation blur together throughout the interview.
The Lawsuit That Changed Everything
In 2022, 11 former “Squad” members, Piper’s friends and YouTube collaborators, filed a lawsuit alleging emotional, verbal, physical, and even sexual abuse. They sought $22 million in damages. The case was ultimately settled for just under $2 million. Piper, her mother, and her mother’s boyfriend admitted no wrongdoing and still deny allegations to this day.
Piper says she never witnessed the alleged abuse and never experienced what her former friends described. She also revealed that she did not watch the Netflix documentary covering the allegations and would not discredit her former collaborators’ claims.
Yet she frames the lawsuit as the moment she “lost herself” and her business. She hints at suicidal thoughts during that period, calling it the darkest time in her life.
What’s striking is where the blame lands. Piper positions herself as a victim of her former friends, the ones who sued, rather than centering herself as a potential victim of the adults who managed her career. She even says she blames herself for the dysfunction within her family because she was the one who wanted to enter the influencer and entertainment world.
That statement alone is heartbreaking.
Piper Rockelle Thriving on Hate
Perhaps the most revealing moment comes when Piper admits, “I’m never going to have a good reputation. I’m never going to have a clean slate. I don’t really want a clean slate.” She adds that she thrives off the hate.
When Juju Chang asks how she feels about people viewing her as a role model, Piper laughs. If they want to, she says, fine — but they won’t make as much money as she does.
The tone often feels smug. Defensive. Rehearsed. At times, she appears to be repeating talking points that critics have long attributed to her mother’s influence. She says she wouldn’t change anything about growing up on YouTube.
That’s hard to reconcile with the gravity of the allegations surrounding her childhood.
The Family Factor
Even Piper’s grandmother appears in the special, defending her and dismissing critics by suggesting the lawsuit and Netflix special used Piper’s name for attention. She says she is proud of her granddaughter. Meanwhile, Piper shares that she bought her grandmother a new car and told her she never has to work again.
The power dynamics are impossible to ignore.
The documentary at one point shifts blame toward the older men who subscribe to her content, suggesting they fuel the demand. But that framing feels incomplete. The demand exists because the content exists. It’s a mutual, transactional relationship; one that raises uncomfortable questions about conditioning, exploitation, and agency.
Piper maintains that, at the time of filming, there was no nudity on her OnlyFans. But the marketing, branding, and countdown culture surrounding her 18th birthday speak volumes.
Final Thoughts
Piper Rockelle: Barely Legal is disturbing. Not because it exposes something new, but because it forces viewers to sit with contradictions.
Piper is both empowered adult and former child star shaped by a system many believe failed her. She is both defiant and defensive. She claims ownership of her choices while simultaneously blaming herself for the chaos around her.
The documentary never fully answers the moral question it raises: Is this a story about survival, exploitation, capitalism, or all three?
What remains clear is this: the line between agency and conditioning feels razor thin. And watching Piper smirk through it all may be the most unsettling part of the special.
Let us know your thoughts about the Hulu special on Instagram @obsessedseries.
