YouTube Removes 14-Year-Old Piper Rockwell’s Bikini Images After Pink Claims She’s Being ‘Exploited’
Should her parents be controlling her posts?
Cubankite / Shutterstock / Piper Rockelle / Instagram 14-year-old YouTube star Piper Rockelle has been making headlines after Pink accused her parents of exploiting her.
Now, as the controversy heats up, YouTube has removed some of her content that is in breach of their child protection policies.
While the teen's name is in the media for all the wrong reasons, some are calling on her parents to tone down her content while others are criticizing the sexualisation of Rockelle.
Who is Piper Rockelle?
Rockelle is a social media star with 8.2 million YouTube subscribers. She started her platform in 2016 when she was 10-years-old.
She is currently known for making prank and challenge videos that center around her, her friend group and her boyfriend.
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She also releases music through Universal Music Group, and in the past, starred on Brat TV shows like "Mani" and "Piperazzi."
Pink claims Piper Rockelle is 'being exploited.'
"How many kids like Piper Rockelle are being exploited by their parents?" the singer asked on Twitter.
"And at what point do the rest of us say … 'this isn’t okay for a 13 yr old to be posing in a bikini whilst her MOTHER takes the photo?!?!'"
Her question raises an interesting point about child protection in the age of social media.
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Pink may have been referring to bikini photos Rockelle posted on her Instagram, which has 4.8 million followers.
According to the account's bio, the page is "managed by Family."
YouTube removed some of Piper Rockelle's thumbnails.
As outrage bubbled about the teen's social media content, YouTube replaced three of Rockelle's video thumbnails with what appears to be default images.
The platform's child safety policy prohibits content that endangers the emotional and physical health of minors, including content that sexually exploits minors and is marketed towards young audiences that contain mature themes.
The three thumbnails YouTube pulled are from videos titled: "My Boyfriend Reacts to Fashion Nova Swimsuit Haul **BODY SHAMING PRANK**," "MY BOYFRIEND WALKED IN ON ME," and "Wearing A Hot Outfit Then Leaving Him! **Cute Reaction**."
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One removed thumbnail showed Rockelle holding a towel around herself next to her 16-year-old boyfriend Lev Cameron who looks away. On top of the photo is a "CENSORED" label in the top right corner.
Another showed Rockelle dressed in a pink swimsuit, with her friend, next to two boys on a couch holding signs that appeared to be rating the girls.
The third showed Rockelle and another girl, in bikinis again, with quote bubbles indicating that they were "leaving," next to boys whose quote bubbles said "NO!" and "STOP!"
Courtney Stodden sided with Pink over the Piper Rockelle controversy.
Former model and reality TV star, Courtney Stodden, appeared to back up Pink's comments in a recent Instagram.
Stodden, who themselves was a victim of sexual exploitation in the media as a teen, hashtagged #PiperRockelle in her post.
"It's hard for children to separate attention they receive online from predatory behavior from adults," Stodden wrote.
"It's our responsibility as a society to step up and protect our kids as much as we can from falling victim to this cycle of digital grooming. As adults, we can see what they can't."
Stodden has a point. While young girls shouldn't have to cover up just because others might wrongfully sexualize them, it can be dangerous to post these kinds of images online and not have control over how they are perceived.
Piper Rockelle has defended herself from the exploitation claims.
Rockelle said that she doesn't see anything wrong with teenagers wearing bikinis and that "there's nothing wrong with being in a bikini. Pics of teenagers in bikinis having fun are not sexual. They're only sexual if you view us that way."
She has also said that her mother doesn't make her do anything as her channel is run by herself and her friends.
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Megan Hatch is a writer at YourTango who covers pop culture, love and relationships, and self-care.