How the “Cash Me Outside” Girl Cashed In on $52.8 Million as the Last Viral Internet Star

“Catch me on OnlyFans, how ‘bout that?”

You may know her as the “Cash Me Outside” girl.

Image by: perezhilton.com licensed under CC BY 2.0Photo byPerezhilton.com

But newly budding recording artist and serial entrepreneur, Bhad Babie, wants you to forget about her viral origins.

In a recent video shared by TMZ, she said:

“Call me the youngest female of the decade to go platinum… the girl who got a f — ing million-dollar makeup deal, the girl who made over f — ing $50 million on OnlyFans.”

You may not agree with her antics, what she represents, or understand why she’s famous in the first place. But as of this year, you must accept her as a cultural mainstay.

Danielle Bregoli represents a paradigm shift in the internet world — the last of a dying breed.

Here’s everything you can learn from the unlikely story of ‘cashing outside’ to ‘cashing in’ as one of the world’s last viral internet superstars.

How ‘bout dah?

Let me catch you up, real quick.

If you’ve never heard of Danielle Bregoli, Bhad Babie, or her original monicker, the “Cash me outside” girl, here’s a brief history.

It all started in 2016, after her television appearance on ‘Dr. Phil’ went viral. The then 13-year-old Danielle Bregoli was interviewed as part of a recurring segment on rebellious teens.

Danielle was brash, unapologetic, and spoke in a seemingly mismatched street slang contrasting her appearance.

After becoming disgruntled with the audience laughing at her, Danielle set the internet ablaze with her iconic response,

“Catch me outside, how ‘bout that.”

With these 6 words Danielle Bregoli, from Boynton Beach, Florida became the “Cash me outside” girl, eventual rapper “Bhad Bhabie”, and one of the highest-paid OnlyFans models in the company’s history.

$52.8 million on OnlyFans in one year.

Say what you will about Bhad Bhabie, but she’s fully embraced her bad girl image all the way to the bank.

In April of 2022, she shared this image in response to those challenging her claims of making $50+ million on OnlyFans:

Bhad Bhabie's OnlyFans income.Photo byInstagram/@bhadbhabie

A screenshot of her yearly earnings, with the caption, “Go cry about it b — ”.

If you’re unfamiliar with OnlyFans, it’s an 18+ subscription-based social media platform where creators can share not-safe-for-work content.

Danielle charged $23.99 per month for exclusive photos, videos, and direct messages with subscribers. Shortly after launching her page, she broke a company record, pulling in $1 million in just 6 hours.

After one year on the platform, she earned $52.8 million.

But how did 13-year-old Danielle Bregoli go from internet meme to adult content creator?

Well, like any internet celebrity she was a byproduct of circumstance, ambition, and a little bit of luck.

A timeline of success.

In 2017, Danielle was invited back to the Dr. Phil show for a follow-up interview.

Doubling up on her trip to Los Angeles, she collaborated with fellow Florida native and rapper Kodak Black, starring in the music video for his song “Everything 1K”.

It was the first time Danielle publicly embraced her new image, sporting a t-shirt with her catchphrase “Cash Me Outside, How ‘Bout Dah” printed on it.

From there, Danielle’s star burned even brighter.

She quickly signed with brand advisor Adam Kluger who led her social media campaign and helped secure a record deal with Atlantic records.

Shortly after releasing her first song “Cash Me Outside Trap Remix”, Danielle began her transition to rapper, introducing herself to the world as “Bhad Bhabie” with her single “These Heaux”.

The song made it to The Billboard Hot 100 list, naming Bhad Bhabie the youngest debuting female artist to do so, at just 14 years of age.

Then in 2018, Bhad Bhabie went platinum with the song “Gucci Flip Flops” — her first of 2 eventual platinum records. That same year, she secured a $900K makeup deal with “CopyCat Beauty”.

For the next several years, Bhad Bhabie remained a meme in the public eye while developing her brand in the shadows. Still a teenager, she cashed in on brand deals, appearances, and continued making music.

But her biggest business move came in 2021, just one week after her 18th birthday, when she launched her OnlyFans page.

Bhad Bhabie is the last of a dying breed.

Many of the public figures we know today burst onto the scene as a result of internet virality:

• Justin Bieber made his start singing covers on YouTube.
• Kim Kardashian became an instant celebrity after her sex tape went viral.
• Cardi B dominated the Instagram algorithm before dominating the music space.

These celebrities followed intentional paths, but during their come-ups, there were many flash-in-a-pan viral sensations that existed as well.

Those that went viral seemingly by accident: The Rebecca Blacks, Charlie-bit-my-fingers, and Leave Britney alones of the world.

Back in those days, virality was a gift granted by the internet gods.

If you were lucky enough to see lightning strike, it was up to you to capture it.

Now, 90% of internet fame is earned through strategic hard work.

In 2016, internet fame hit different.

Although it was less than a decade ago, in 2016, the internet landscape was unrecognizable from today:

• TikTok wasn’t a thing
• MrBeast had 30,000 subscribers
• Elon Musk was known for making electric cars
• Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were happily married
• Twitter was a place to make friends and share cute cat videos

It was pre-COVID, pre-Trump, and pre-Oscars 2022. The New York Magazine called 2016, “The Year the Internet Became Real”.

Times were simpler.

People would gather around their iPhone 7s at work or school to share the latest episode of Car Karaoke. Or, gossip about how Justin Bieber was a bad influence on children for egging his neighbour’s house.

When viral moments like Bhad Bhabie’s surfaced, there was more time in space for them to exist.

Pre-2016, internet virality granted even the most unlikely superstars their 15 minutes of fame. Post-2016, it turned to 15 seconds.

The internet is experiencing a paradigm shift.

In the past, the internet made stars. Now, anyone with a smartphone and knowledge of algorithms can carve a path for themselves.

Finding success on the internet today is just like succeeding in any other business. You must have a calculated plan, understand your market, customer, and execute it.

With everyone having the tools to be seen, it’s much harder to stand out.

In 2016, there were 2,000 YouTube channels in the world with over 1 million subscribers — in 2022, there are 29,000.

Love them or hate them, but the Paul brothers didn’t get to where they are today because of one viral video. They started on Vine, transitioned to YouTube, and now dominate in any space they enter.

And MrBeast went unnoticed for nearly a decade before slowly gaining traction, eventually becoming the biggest YouTuber in the world.

On an episode of The Iced Coffee Hour, viral internet chef Nick Digiovanni talks about teaming up with his data-scientist friend to analyze every aspect of his TikToks. From how many seconds between transitions to how often he spanks his meat.

It’s easy to look at others’ success, like the Cash-me-outside girl and think, ‘She got lucky’. But she was among the last generation of internet superstars to be able to rely on luck.

Today, luck is built over time, through data analytics, market research, and an understanding of human psychology.

Final thoughts: don’t try to go viral. Do this instead.

Social media has passed the point of being a fad or frankly something you can avoid.

As more people become wise to algorithms, the chances of going viral by pure stroke of luck become slimmer every day.

Instead of trying to go viral, focus on honing your craft while enjoying the process. Consistency is the only way to rise to the top and those driven by passion will always outwork those who are in it to cash out.

You might never capture lightning in a bottle, but if you stay the course, you’ll create a foundation for yourself, develop skills, and make some memories along the way.

Not only fans.

Hey, I'm Hudson! I write about social media, marketing, and modern entrepreneurship. Hit follow for more stories like this one.