‘Bad Influence’ docuseries examines ‘kidfluencing’ through Piper Rockelle and the Squad

LOS ANGELES — “Kidfluencing” — a term used to describe the children raking in millions of viewers (and dollars) on social media — is the subject of Netflix’s latest documentary “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing.” The three-part series examines this shadowy and unregulated industry through the story of Piper Rockelle, a viral YouTuber managed by her mother Tiffany Smith.

In January 2022, Smith was sued for $22 million by 11 of Rockelle’s former collaborators — collectively known as the Squad. They accused Smith of violating California’s child labor laws, failing to compensate them and, most notably, of sexual misconduct. A Times investigation published later that year compiled dozens of court filings, emails, casting calls, talent releases and filming schedules, as well as interviews with plaintiffs and parents, revealing a pattern of controlling and abusive behavior by Smith. In the aftermath of the lawsuit filing, Rockelle defended her mother.

“This whole case is based on lies that are driven by financial jealousy,” Smith told The Times. The suit was eventually settled for $1.85 million last October. However, the plaintiffs — and their parents — say they still bear the scars from their time in the Squad.

Reporting from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times has uncovered how male predators are the dominant audience for young female content creators. The documentary highlights a group chat where predators praised so-called momagers for making their goal of consuming child content easier for them. Additionally, the docuseries explains how managers of influencers have skirted child labor laws — a loophole since closed after legislation was signed last fall expanding California’s Coogan Law. “Until we start viewing influencing as labor, those kids are screwed,” said Taylor Lorenz, a culture commentator and expert on influencer culture who is interviewed in the docuseries.

The documentary was directed by Jenna Rosher and Kief Davidson and features interviews with former Squad members, their parents, other collaborators, journalists and experts on internet culture. Here are some takeaways from the docuseries that explores how Rockelle went from a child making dance videos to the star of an online empire to a teenager posting risque bedroom selfies.

How Piper Rockelle went from pageants to being on camera

Rockelle, who was born in Georgia to Smith, a single mother, began competing in pageants as a 3-year-old. Her childhood coincided with the rise of social media platforms like Twitter and reality TV. Her first big break was on the Lifetime reality series “Dance Twins” and soon Rockelle gained a following on the app Musical.ly, where users posted lip sync and dance videos — the app was later acquired by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.

Spurred by Rockelle’s early success, the family moved to Los Angeles in 2017. Initially, Rockelle found work on shows such as Brat TV’s “Mani,” a show about a male nanny. It was there that she met Sophie Fergi, her eventual best friend and Squad member. However, Rockelle left the show after Smith complained about another child getting more lines than her daughter. Rockelle shifted to YouTube, where Smith built a brand off of her normalcy. In these early videos, Rockelle’s personality shines through, as she does activities like making fluffy slime, but eventually the content became more scripted.

The Squad was assembled to supercharge Rockelle’s presence and earnings

YouTube features a robust monetization scheme based on sustained user engagement. To supercharge it, YouTubers will form groups whose individual members feed into the overall success of the whole; examples include Jake Paul’s Team 10 or David Dobrik’s Vlog Squad. Smith borrowed from this model, fostering a group of kids around Rockelle beginning in 2018 that became the Squad.

Hunter Hill, who posed as Rockelle’s older brother in early videos, became the camera man and editor for the Squad. Hill was 20 at the time, and in a relationship with Smith, who is 16 years his senior, though former members of the Squad said in the doc that Rockelle may not have known the extent of their relationship.

Smith would offer exposure as compensation to collaborators, and after parents saw YouTube accounts increase by thousands of followers, and in turn revenues, seemingly overnight, they were sold. “We’re talking life-changing money. You don’t know what to do at first. You’re like, is this real?” said Ashley Rock Smith, Tiffany Smith’s sister-in-law, whose daughter Claire eventually became a Squad member. In return, however, the kids would have to hand over their YouTube account information to Hill, who optimized their accounts.

Squad members worked long hours, which intensified during the pandemic

As Rockelle and the Squad’s popularity skyrocketed, parents and their children say Smith became more demanding. In the documentary, Fergi — who, along with her mother, was living with Smith and Rockelle — described how the Squad would often shoot content for over 12 hours a day. Afterward, they would have to clean the house and wake up at 6 a.m. to complete their schoolwork before doing it all over again. In The Times investigation, former Squad members alleged that Rockelle struggled to read; she contended that she is dyslexic. During the height of pandemic lockdowns, when audiences had nothing to do but watch content, Smith and Hill began to carefully direct videos. “Eventually, it became you’re just being told what to do like you’re a puppet,” said Sawyer Sharbino, a former Squad member.

When Smith started pushing “crush content,” collaborators became uncomfortable

Smith began to push the Squad toward “crush content,” a popular trend where influencers would be “shipped,” or paired together for an on-camera relationship. For example, Rockelle was paired with Gavin Magnus and their ship name was Pavin, and Fergi was paired with Jentzen Ramirez and their ship name was Jophie — the names became trending hashtags. But as “crush content” soared, Squad members say Smith put them in uncomfortable situations and acted inappropriately toward them herself. Heather Trimmer, Fergi’s mother, acted as the stylist for the Squad and said Smith pushed her to buy “sluttier” clothes for Rockelle; the kids were encouraged to stick their butts out and suck their stomachs in for thumbnail clips. Former Squad member Corinne Joy said Smith once asked her if she knew what a blow job was and laughed as she asked if she wanted to perform one on Hill. “I didn’t know how to say stop, at all,” Joy said.

The lawsuit also revealed an egregious 2017 incident that is discussed at length in the documentary, where Smith, then 36, forcibly kissed Raegan Fingles, known as Raegan Beast on social media, twice during a livestreamed hang out with Rockelle and others. Fingles, who was 17 at the time, said Smith had provided alcohol to minors in attendance. However, the next morning, the video was wiped from the internet; in the documentary, Fingles questioned the power of someone who could make a video completely disappear.

Parents accused Smith of manipulating them and their children

As Squad members became more aware of wrongdoings, they said Smith made them feel trapped. For example, after Joy told her mother Steevy Areeco that Smith was mailing Rockelle’s underwear to older men, Areeco pulled her from the Squad. As a result, Joy said Smith blacklisted her and directed other members to cease communications. “Once you’re in, you know the consequences of even just crossing her,” said Angela Sharbino, Sawyer Sharbino’s mother, in the documentary.

In another instance, Johna Kay Ramirez, Squad member Jentzen Ramirez’s mother, tried to extricate her son from the group. But Smith convinced his father to let him stay, and Johna Ramirez alleged that Smith turned her son against her. She filed for divorce in an attempt to gain joint custody of him, but over time, Jentzen Ramirez ceased communication with his mother. Later, the Squad filmed a video in Johna Ramirez’s Austin, Texas, home without her knowledge, which she viewed as a personal threat from Smith.

Accusations of sexual, verbal and emotional abuse sometimes involved Smith’s pets

Collaborators said that Smith would take on the voice of Lenny, one of her deceased cats, when engaging in abusive behavior targeting Rockelle and her cousins Claire and Reese Rock Smith. Once, Reese said, her aunt pinned her to the bed and rubbed her arm all over Reese’s body, pretending it was Lenny’s penis. Reese said she managed to lock herself in Smith’s bathroom, who told her she was outside the door with her pants down. After some time, Reese attempted to exit the bathroom, but Smith pinned her on the bed again before Reese was finally able to escape. Fergi also recalls in the documentary disturbing scenarios like waking up to Smith on top of her. Because it had been normalized, Fergi said she didn’t know what to do.

Parents expressed guilt about failing to protect their children

During filming, Smith would not allow parents to enter the house; they could only visit the back house. Looking back on the events, the mothers of the former Squad members expressed regret at not doing enough to protect their kids. “We’re their mom and we’re supposed to protect them, and we didn’t,” said Trimmer. “We couldn’t. We didn’t know.” In the documentary, Jennifer Bryant, the mother of former Squad member Walker Bryant, said that from the outside, she’d think her behavior was idiotic, but that the situation was more complex because Smith was a master manipulator. It wasn’t until the parents met with an attorney to discuss a lawsuit against Smith and Hill about the tanking views on their children’s YouTube channels that the sexual abuse allegations came to light.

Despite the lawsuit and negative media attention, Smith and Rockelle are still creating content

The lawsuit against Smith and Hill was ultimately settled for $1.85 million in 2024. In the documentary, Ashley Rock Smith said her daughter was disappointed with the resolution because she wanted to take the stand and tell the judge and jury what had happened; however, the parents said their ultimate goal was to create visibility of their struggles so other families could be aware. As attorney Matt Sarelson says in the documentary, “In many ways, a lawsuit is where justice goes to die.”

However, despite the lawsuit and Rockelle’s YouTube account being demonetized as a result of the allegations, Smith and Rockelle are still producing content. Rockelle is now a creator on BrandArmy, which is marketed as OnlyFans but with no nudity. The documentary ends by suggesting that the ultimate victim is Rockelle herself.