YouTuber Piper Rockelle and her controversial ascent to fame on social media is the subject of a Netflix documentary.
Directed by Jenna Rosher and Kief Davidson, Bad Influence: The Dark Side Of Kidfluencing explores various allegations of exploitation and abuse surrounding Piper Rockelle’s career, as engineered by her mother and manager Tiffany Smith.
The three-part series features interviews with Rockelle’s former Squad mates, who were recruited by Smith to feature in videos. In January 2022, 11 former members of the Squad filed a lawsuit against Rockelle’s mother, claiming they were “frequently subjected to an emotionally, physically and sometimes sexually abusive environment”.
Smith, along with her then-boyfriend and colleague Hunter Hill, denied the allegations and the lawsuit was settled for $1.85million in October 2024, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Neither Smith, Rockelle, or Hill contribute to the Netflix series.
Where is Piper Rockelle now?
Rockelle, now aged 17, is still an influencer with over 6.1 million followers on Instagram, 14.7 million followers on TikTok, and 12.1 million subscribers on YouTube. She is believed to still be managed by her mum, Tiffany Smith. Along with being an influencer, Rockelle describes herself as an actress, dancer and singer.
In a TikTok from February, Rockelle said she wants to tell her “side of the story”, presumably in response to the allegations, when she turns 18 in August.
@piperrockelle 18
@jacob
Earlier this year, Rockelle faced criticism for doing a collaboration with TikTok’s Bop House, whose members primarily make content for OnlyFans.
In a statement to People addressing the backlash, Rockelle said she was “so grateful for the opportunity to collab with the Bop House creators”.
She added: “No matter what we do as humans we will get judged and people will have opinions. I have been in this business for eight years and I’ve never met such a kind, warmhearted group of people. Social media is supposed to be entertainment so if we’re not entertaining you something must be wrong.
“You only know so much about a person from the internet we show you what we want you to see.”
Where are the Squad members now?
The majority of the former Squad members continue to be online influencers in various forms. Sophie Fergi runs a podcast and YouTube series Girl Talk, Gavin Magnus is an aspiring musician who also streams on Twitch, while Sawyer Sharbino is a singer, actor, model, and content creator.
Corinne Joy is training to be a pro wrestler, Emily Dobson regularly posts across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, Jentzen Ramirez is an actor starring in web series Junior’s Cafe, while Claire RockSmith has acting credits in web series Snowbound.
Symonne Harrison recently launched a podcast called The Friendzone, and Hayden Haas describes himself as an actor, artist, creator, and athlete, although he appears to have largely retreated from posting regular updates on social media.
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