Child stars who participated in viral videos are claiming they were abused in a new documentary series on Netflix, Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, out April 9.
The three-part series centers on Los Angeles-area viral video creator Piper Rockelle Smith, 17, and the teens who participated in her playful social media posts who say they were mistreated by Piper’s mom Tiffany Smith. In January 2022, 11 teens sued Smith, 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.”
While a $1.85 million settlement was reached in October 2024, the teen creators are making sure they have the final word in the Netflix docu-series.
Over three episodes, the series shows Piper’s rise to fame, featuring interviews with internet historians and the teen stars who were part of her social media presence and their families. They argue that while the they looked like they were all having fun in the social media posts, there was a lot of stress behind the scenes.
The making of Piper’s “squad”
As Bad Influence shows, Smith was a single mom who wanted Piper Rockelle and her clique to be the kid version of the TV show Friends.
Piper joined YouTube in 2016 and regularly posted videos of her hanging out with her friends, and as views soared, more boys and girls were added to the group, which became known as Piper’s “squad.” These youngsters were aspiring actors, and Smith had pitched the roles to their parents as a way for them to get exposure and build their brands.
In Bad Influence, teens who performed with Piper in her social media videos—which featured music videos, latest crushes, and pranks—argue that Smith was the kind of stage mom who would go to great lengths to make hilarious content. While many of the viral videos show the kids palling around and preening, the former squad members say they were often pushed too far.
In the series, Smith can be heard daring a young girl to lick a smoothie off of the pavement at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Former squad member Sawyer Sharbino says one time they were told to be mean to one of the other child stars on her birthday, to ignore her and not wish her a happy birthday,
“Tiffany absolutely wanted to do more questionable content to get more views and likes,” he says.
Jokes that didn’t land with the squad
The kids in Bad Influence say the pranks were the most cruel. For one YouTube video, Piper pretended to break her leg and have a stroke and was carried away in a fake ambulance.
One time, an actor was hired to dress up as a policeman and arrest one of the teens—leaving them in tears.
“People weren’t informed that it was a prank, parents weren’t informed that it was a prank,” Sophie Fergi, a former squad member, says in the series.
Johna Ramirez says it was “traumatizing” to watch her 13-year-old son Jentzen bawling on set as a fake police officer intimidated the youngsters.
“There are so many videos that made all of us feel uncomfortable,” says Fergi, who described her experience acting with Piper as “some of the hardest years of my life and I’m only 12.”
Many of Piper’s social media posts are mature, featuring her in skimpy clothing. In 2021, the Grammy award-winning singer Pink spoke out about how kid influencers seemed oversexualized, tweeting, “How many kids like Piper Rockelle are being exploited by their parents?…“And at what point do the rest of us say … ‘this isn’t okay for a 13 yr old to be posing in a bikini whilst her MOTHER takes the photo?!?!”
Tiffany’s and Piper’s response to the allegations
Smith and Piper did not participate in the docu-series, but they have denied allegations in previous interviews.
“Obviously we didn’t do anything that was alleged, but sadly, money is a big motivator for certain personalities in this world,” Smith said in a statement to People before the release of the trailer for Bad Influence. “We made the decision to put this behind us because honestly, prolonged litigation would be even more harmful and painful to everyone involved—which includes kids.”
In a similar statement back then, Piper called the child abuse claims “ridiculous.”
But as the docu-series makes clear, allegations of abuse are not unusual in the world of “kidfluencing.” In 2018, Michael and Heather Martin lost custody of two of their children after they posted videos of themselves pranking their children. In 2024, parenting vlogger Ruby Franke received a prison sentence of up to 30 years for child abuse.
Some child entertainers on social media make six figures a month, and yet, they don’t have the same kind of protections that child entertainers in traditional media do.
As Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet, says in the series, “When it comes to new forms of work and new media, there are no labor protections.”
The members of the squad said that they backed out more because of Smith than because of Piper. The docu-series ends with former squad members saying how much they still love and care about Piper and tearing up when they talk about leaving the squad.
Piper is still active on social media. She currently boasts more than 14.7 million followers on TikTok, more than 12 million followers on YouTube, and more than 6 million followers on Instagram.
Write to Olivia B. Waxman at [email protected].
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