Netflix
Netflix's Cover of Bad Influence
Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok and Snapchat; the apps that most kids find themselves spending the majority of their freetime on. Each day we take in thousands of videos from creators that we either relate to or that we want to emulate and for most of these creators this content making is their whole job.
Piper Rockelle is a popular kids youtuber and fan favorite since the start of her career on Musical.ly, now known as Tiktok, at 8 years old. Her mom-ager, Tiffany Smith, took her Musical.ly fame and turned it into a multi-platform media empire that expanded to include other children as well, becoming known as “The Squad”. Now at 17 years old Piper is estimated to make about $2-3 million dollars a year.
This may seem like the dream life, a famous, multi-millionaire before you turn 18, but lately lots of controversy has amassed over Piper, her channel and at most of all, Tiffany Smith.
A recent 3-part Netflix docuseries called ‘Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing’ has included many of Piper Rockelle’s former squad members and their parents and has shed light on many disturbing truths about the abuse that happened behind the scenes of Piper’s online career at the hands of Tiffany.
The controversy started in January of 2022, when 11 teens and their parents sued Tiffany Smith for $22 million, alleging that they were “”frequently subjected to an emotionally, physically and sometimes sexually abusive environment perpetrated by Ms. Smith on and off set during filming sessions for Piper’s YouTube channel.”
This lawsuit was settled 2 years later, with Tiffany paying $1.85 million and with all parties disclaiming any liability. But many of Piper’s current and past fans are wondering about the allegations.
What were they, and more importantly, are they true?
Background
Tiffany Smith is a single mom, as Piper’s dad left when he found out she was pregnant, and she recognized Piper’s outgoing personality and love for the camera from a young age. She had Piper in pageants and dance starting at 3 years old. She then created Piper’s Musical.ly account at 8 years old and Piper gained thousands of followers, traction which her mom then took into other platforms, building the Piper Rockelle empire that exists today. Following her success on social media, Piper got into acting, appearing in several web series from the production company Brat, including Mani and Chicken Girls. Piper never attended real school and her aunt, who appeared in the documentary, shared that she has always worried about Piper’s lack of normalcy. She said that Tiffany always pushed Piper to be “the best” and how it was almost like she wanted to show Piper’s dad that he made the wrong decision.
Following their success in the media and film industry, Piper and Tiffany moved to Los Angeles, where they met Hunter Hill. He edited their videos and posed as Piper’s older brother online; eventually entering a romantic relationship with Tiffany Smith, despite being much younger than her.
The Squad
Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Smith found other child influencers to join Piper’s “Squad” and appear in her videos.
Due to the conditions, the Squad changed often, but some of the key Squad members were Sophie Fergi, Gavin Magnus, Sawyer Sharbino, Hayden Haas, Corinne Joy, Jentzen Ramirez, Claire RockSmith and Symonne Harrison.
It started out as collaborative videos dancing, pranking and doing whatever the latest viral trend or challenge was. Tiffany and Hunter planned and orchestrated each video and it started out fun for the kids, but soon they moved into breaking boundaries and making inappropriate requests to the kids, such as forcing them to do romantic things that they were too young for or forcing them to work absurd hours.
Eventually this led to squad members leaving, and suspiciously anyone who left the Squad was shunned by the remaining members and their channels were completely destroyed: almost as if Tiffany wanted to send a message about leaving.
This is affirmed in the lawsuit, as former squad members claim that she conspired to “intentionally interfere with and sabotage” their channels by using bots and false reporting/flagging that minimized their views “thereby significantly diminishing” their own profits.
Accusations
The three main accusations brought against Smith were heavy ones: harassment, molestation and abuse.
The details of the abuse are graphic and can be triggered or upsetting, but there are many articles on the exact claims of her abuse towards the kids.
Smith denied all these allegations publicly and claimed that they were all just jealous of Piper’s fame and financial gain.
Current Situation
Piper’s channel has been demonetized, but her content has now been shifted to other, more exploitative platforms. Smith filed a counter-lawsuit but later dropped it with no explanation. Piper Rockelle, Tiffany Smith, Hunter Hill, Gavin Magnus, Jentzen Ramirez, Lev Cameron and many other former squad members declined to be in the documentary, so currently the whole story is a mystery.
My Opinion
It seems to me that all these kids are telling the truth, and are not concerned about money but rather getting justice for themselves and rescuing Piper from the abusive situation she is currently trapped in with her mother.
They all agreed on one thing in the documentary: Piper is a victim to all of this just as much as anyone.
*If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, help is available.
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline Call 800-4224453
National Domestic Violence Hotline Call 800-799-7233