- Pink tweeted accusing Piper Rockelle’s parents of exploiting her by photographing her in a bikini.
- Rockelle and her mother refuted the accusation in a statement provided to Insider.
- Rockelle, who is 14, has over 8.2 million subscribers on YouTube.
The singer Pink accused a 14-year-old YouTuber’s parents of having “exploited” their daughter by allowing her to be photographed in a bikini.
Piper Rockelle, who has over 8 million subscribers on YouTube where she’s known for participating in pranks and challenges, denied the claim in a statement to Insider.
“My mom doesn’t make me do anything,” Rockelle told Insider in an emailed statement provided by a representative. “In terms of me in swimsuits, it’s summer! My friends and I live in the water.”
Pink, whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore, asked her 31 million Twitter followers in a Sunday tweet: “How many kids like Piper Rockelle are being exploited by their parents?”
She added: “At what point do the rest of us say … ‘this isn’t okay for a 13 yr old [sic] to be posing in a bikini whilst her MOTHER takes the photo?!?!'” Rockelle is 14, not 13.
—P!nk (@Pink) August 29, 2021
The singer appeared to be referring to a series of bikini photos Rockelle shared on Instagram, where she has 4.8 million followers, on August 14. The account’s bio says the page is “managed by Family.”
Rockelle’s YouTube content includes videos like letting Instagram followers control what she does for 24 hours. The Los Angeles-based social media star also makes pop music and has over 220,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Rockelle told TODAY Parents that she didn’t think Pink had “ever seen one” of her videos. “Pictures of teenagers in bikinis having fun are not sexual,” she said. “They’re only sexual if you view us that way.”
In her statement to Insider, she said she doesn’t believe there is anything inherently wrong with someone her age wearing a bikini.
“Why do we shame people for that? I’m just having fun,” she said. “Pics of teenagers in bikinis having fun are not sexual. They’re only sexual if you view us that way.”
Rockelle’s mother, Tiffany Rockelle, told Insider in an emailed statement provided by a representative that she’s here to “protect” her daughter and support her in her passions.
“I’m just a mom like any other who loves her daughter and would do anything for her,” Tiffany said.
On Twitter, people had mixed reactions to Pink’s post. Many agreed and thanked her for speaking out about the situation while others, including a musician and influencer claiming to be an ex-boyfriend of Rockelle, said Pink’s point was off base.
A representative for Pink did not immediately respond to a request for comment.