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Piper Rockelle's mother, YouTube star Tiffany Smith, has been accused of a range of shocking acts against minors who were in her daughter's content creation squad, the "Piper Squad." Smith stands accused of emotional, physical, and s*xual abuse, as well as financial exploitation.
The claims have been laid out in suits by 11 former members of the squad who are suing for $22 million in damages. The Tiffany Smith and Piper Rockelle case features in the Netflix documentary series Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, which was released on April 9, 2025.
The documentary series is a three-part expose that investigates claims of abuse and exploitation of Tiffany Smith by former "The Squad" members, a clique of young social media influencers who had featured in Piper Rockelle's videos.
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Five surprising facts regarding the charges against Tiffany Smith
1) Suggested s*xualized comments and directives
According to The Independent, court documents indicate that Tiffany Smith made s*xually explicit comments to minors who were involved in her daughter's YouTube channel. The plaintiffs claim she instructed them to act provocatively during video shoots, including wearing revealing clothing and engaging in staged romantic interactions.
For instance, one video was a "last to stop kissing" challenge where minors were reportedly given explicit instructions on how to kiss aggressively. Reportedly, Smith told the children to "make it s*xy" and stressed over and over again that "s*x sells," based on testimony in a Netflix docuseries. These words were said to make the children feel uncomfortable and in an inappropriate setting.
2) Inappropriate physical contact
According to Business Insider, some of the plaintiffs accuse Smith of inappropriate physical contact with them while they were working on Piper Rochelle's content. This ranges from touching their legs, thighs, and buttocks. Another plaintiff accused Smith of poking their anus through clothes and spanking them with a wooden spoon.
According to The Independent, the complaint also reports an incident in which Smith allegedly sent Piper Rockelle's bras and underwear to some unknown person who enjoyed "smelling this stuff." According to Plaintiffs, this was exploitative and greatly disturbing.
3) Emotional abuse and h*rassment
According to Business Insider, plaintiffs charge Smith with fostering a hostile atmosphere riddled with verbal abuse and emotional manipulation. She reportedly screamed obscenities at the children during video productions, making some of them cry.
The lawsuit characterizes Smith as a "mean-spirited control freak" who used her authority to belittle and intimidate the young collaborators.
Reportedly, the Netflix documentary series focuses on allegations that Smith coerced minors into awkward situations by taking advantage of their aspirations for success and fame on social media websites.
4) Financial exploitation
According to Crime Online, the lawsuit charges that Tiffany Smith did not pay the minors for their participation in Piper Rockelle's videos even though she used their names, images, and likenesses prominently for profit. Plaintiffs allege they were not compensated for their work, even though they appeared in hundreds of videos that made considerable amounts of money for Piper's channel.
According to The Independent, after some of the plaintiffs quit the Piper Squad, Smith purportedly sabotaged their YouTube channels by falsely reporting their content as inappropriate and placing their videos on adult websites. These acts reportedly harmed their online careers and reputations.
5) Countersuit and settlement
According to Business Insider, in return for the claims, Tiffany Smith countersued the mothers of the plaintiffs for $30 million under the RICO Act, charging that they made up charges of abuse for extortion. She dropped this countersuit later without filing any further action.
According to Crime Online, in October 2024, Smith settled with the plaintiffs for $1.85 million but denied any wrongdoing. The settlement provided some resolution to the court fight but did not entail an admission of liability by Smith. The case has generated wider discussions regarding exploitation in child-centric content creation sectors.
For more details on the case, watch Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, on Netflix.
