A new Netflix docuseries investigates allegations of child exploitation against Piper Rockelle, a young influencer who rose to fame around 2017. The three-part series, Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, will premiere on the platform on April 9.
The trailer shows Rockelle's origins as a fun-loving, free-spirited preteen whose antics attracted more than 10 million followers on YouTube. It also features her mother, Tiffany Smith, whom the filmmakers portray as a fame-hungry predator. "Tiffany finds people who want to be famous," a voiceover says. "She preys on them. Things get complicated when the young people earn exorbitant amounts of money." According to the trailer, Rockelle's social media accounts were earning up to half a million dollars a month. The video claims that Rockelle's audience was primarily made up of adult men and that Smith encouraged the young members of Rockelle's "Squad" to "make it cool."
Creator: Kief Davidson
Star: Sawyer Sharbino
Other allegations in the trailer include that "everything was controlled by Tiffany" and that the crew recorded 10 to 15 videos a day. Some of those interviewed also claimed that Smith started "hate campaigns" against crew members who opposed her wishes. "It's like a cult or something, like you can't escape," one woman says.
Smith and her ex-boyfriend, Hunter Hill, settled a $1.85 million lawsuit filed by 11 teenage influencers and their guardians in 2021, who claimed she abused them "emotionally, physically, and sometimes sexually," according to the Los Angeles Times. The lawsuit alleged that Smith had not paid them for their work. She did not comment to the Times, but the newspaper reported that she denied the allegations. "I'm happy and relieved for my clients," said Matthew Sarelson, the team's attorney, in a statement. "11 young people who endured an abusive environment and had the courage to speak publicly."
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