What Are Piper Rockelle and Tiffany Smith Up to Today?

At first glance, Piper Rockelle’s immensely popular YouTube channel appeared glossy, entertaining, and suitable for kids. Launching her account at the age of 11, Piper showcased videos featuring her group of tween friends pulling pranks, acting out skits, and engaging in fun viral challenges, gaining millions of followers in the process.

Yet beneath the cheerful facade, Piper and her friends were enduring a much grimmer reality off-camera. A lawsuit filed in January 2022 by 11 former members of “Piper’s Squad” alleged “verbal, physical, and, at times, sexual abuse” inflicted by Piper’s mother and producer, Tiffany Smith.

A new three-part docuseries on Netflix titled “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing” presents the narratives of several former child influencers who were part of “Piper’s Squad.”

This documentary also explores the realm of “kidfluencing,” a legally ambiguous and largely unregulated area within the entertainment industry.

Continue reading to discover more about teen influencer Piper Rockelle, the reasons behind her mother being sued for $22 million, and their current situations.

Who is Piper Rockelle?

Piper Rockelle, age 17, boasts over 30 million followers on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

She shot to internet fame at 8 years old, thanks to her YouTube channel, with the guidance of her mother and “momager,” Tiffany Smith.

By the age of 11, Tiffany began inviting other kids to join her daughter’s content, leading to the formation of the group dubbed “Piper’s Squad.”

Over the next few years, the Squad produced countless videos showcasing pranks, lip sync dancing, trending challenges, and confessions about crushes.

The channel generated substantial income for Smith and her daughter. At one stage, Piper was reportedly raking in over half a million dollars each month from her video content, as per The Los Angeles Times.

Members of the Squad also earned significant monthly incomes from their own YouTube channels due to their collaboration with Piper, as indicated by legal documents from 2022.

Although presented as light-hearted content revolving around the silly antics and escapades of tweens, there were reports of a more sinister side to the channel.

As time wore on, former Squad members began to reveal allegations of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse they claimed to have suffered from Smith. Accusations of exploitative practices and labor violations also emerged.

In January 2022, a group of former Squad members filed a lawsuit against Smith and her business partner, Hunter Hill. Piper was not named as a defendant in this case.

Why was Piper Rockelle’s mom sued?

In 2022, eleven ex-members of Piper’s “Squad” took legal action against Rockelle’s mother, Tiffany Smith, seeking damages of at least $2 million each, amounting to a total of $22 million.

Hill was also included as a defendant, along with Piper Rockelle Inc., the family’s content creation business.

Although Hill, 28, appeared as a big brother figure to Piper on-screen, he was reported to be in a romantic relationship with Piper’s mother off-camera, and was said to be the “primary director, editor, and cinematographer” of Piper’s YouTube videos, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleged sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among various other violations.

The plaintiffs, all minors at the time of filing, accused Smith of “grossly inappropriate, offensive, and abusive treatment.” They alleged that Smith made crude comments about their bodies and occasionally touched them inappropriately.

The complaint asserted that Smith encouraged the minors in the Squad to act sexually with one another and to be proactive in videos and photos, often urging them to make “sexy kissing faces” or to “wear something sluttier” because “sex sells.”

The complaint further alleged that Smith and Hill would “sabotage” children who left the Squad, targeting their individual YouTube channels.

According to the claims, Smith and Hill employed several approaches to “tank” the online platforms of former Squad members, such as inundating them with bot subscribers, detrimentally impacting how videos are promoted on YouTube, and falsely flagging their channels as “inappropriate” to restrict their content.

These tactics allegedly resulted in a “significant loss” of subscribers and viewership for the plaintiffs, leading to detrimental financial repercussions, as outlined in the lawsuit.

Smith has refuted the accusations against her. In July 2023, she filed a countersuit for $30 million, claiming that the mothers of the plaintiffs were attempting to blackmail her with spurious allegations of sexual abuse, according to NBC News. She subsequently dropped the countersuit.

In a December 2022 interview with The Los Angeles Times, Smith questioned the motives of the plaintiffs behind their lawsuit.

“This entire case is built on fabrications fueled by financial envy,” she stated. “Jealousy directed toward a 15-year-old girl.”

Smith has also denied breaching California labor laws during the filming of Squad videos. Several parents of former Squad members have claimed that their children filmed for up to 12 hours a day without receiving adequate education on set, as reported by the Times.

TODAY.com has reached out to Hill for a response but has yet to receive a reply at the time of publication.

“Imagine if these kids had been filming for a Lionsgate movie,” said Matthew Sarelson, the plaintiffs’ attorney, to the Times in 2022. “People would be prosecuted if this had transpired at a studio.”

Smith maintains that she was not managing a professional production studio and asserts it was the responsibility of parents to oversee their children’s education.

The lawsuit filed by the Squad members was settled in October 2024 for $1.85 million, according to NBC News.

“This was never solely about finances — it was about holding an individual responsible, sharing the truth, and moving toward healing,” stated Angela Sharbino, the parent of one of the plaintiffs, as reported by NBC News. “All of these kids have moved forward from the ‘Squad’ and are closing this chapter of their lives.”

Where are Piper Rockelle and Tiffany Smith now?Piper continues to create content on her social media platforms.

Following the lawsuit in 2022, YouTube demonetized Piper’s channel, meaning she could no longer earn revenue from her videos. However, she occasionally uploads YouTube videos, such as a 10-minute vlog titled “Week in my Life as a Full Time Influencer” in November 2024.

“Of course, I film vlogs like this, but I don’t gain much from it apart from the joy of knowing you enjoy watching them, and I create fun memories to look back on, which I think is great,” she expresses in the video.

The teenager adds that she now undertakes various other jobs to “you know, keep a roof over my head,” including brand partnerships and sponsored TikTok videos.

Smith and Hill still seem to manage the production of Piper’s content. In her 2024 “Week in the Life” vlog, a narrator who appears to be Hill mentions that Smith “completely redesigned and furnished” a room in their home for Piper to film TikTok videos at all hours.

One segment in the 2024 vlog shows Piper decorating a Christmas tree at 11:30 p.m. as part of a paid brand collaboration.

The narrator, presumably Hill, states in the video that post-filming of the Christmas tree scene, they still have to shoot something for her vlog that is scheduled to upload “in a couple of hours.”

“I need to finish editing it and we haven’t even created a thumbnail for it,” he remarks. “So there are so many pressures — you guys have no idea what this entails.”

“But it’s not too bad,” Piper interjects.

Piper boasts over 14 million followers on TikTok, frequently sharing videos of her spending time with her boyfriend, lip-syncing to trending songs, and sometimes wearing bikinis and other revealing outfits.

She also maintains an account on BrandArmy, a platform that permits creators as young as 13 to share paid photos and videos, with parental oversight. The site is accessible only to subscribers aged 18 and above.

In her 2024 vlog, Piper expresses her gratitude for the chance to create content while providing a frank glimpse into her life and obligations.

“I have no reason to complain about my life because it could always be worse. However, I do want to say that the work I do is tough. I’ve never held a typical job, but whatever I’m doing now feels like a job. It takes a toll on me. At night, I find myself thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, what did I do today?’” she shares.

“And on top of everything, what I usually want to do is just work out because it brings me so much joy. It’s, like, the one moment in my life when everything feels calm, and I don’t have to think about anything or satisfy anyone,” she concludes.