Tiffany Smith YouTube star mom sued for $22 million by daughter, Piper Rockefelle’s former collaborators after accusations of child abuse and exploitation. Trial starts Monday.
Sexualizing and exploiting young teens for bumper profits? A filed lawsuit has accused the mother of a teen YouTube star of sexually, physically and emotionally abusing nearly a dozen of her daughter’s young co-creators and collaborators as the mom is set to now face her alleged victims in court Monday.
Tiffany Smith, whose daughter is 15-year-old YouTuber Piper Rockelle, was sued last year by the 11 young content creators over the alleged abuse as well as an apparent lack of compensation for their work.
Smith is accused of ‘harassment, molestation and abuse,’ according to the complaint filed in January 2022. The civil trial expected to start Monday, NBC News reported.
The momager earned the reputation of a being a ‘mean-spirited control freak’ whose interactions with the content creators ‘were not only sexually inappropriate and confrontational, but often reprehensible and even illegal,’ the suit alleges.
In total, the eleven plaintiffs — who are all former members of the ‘Piper Squad’ and starred on her daughter’s YouTube channel — are seeking at least $22 million ($2 million each) in damages from Smith and her boyfriend, Hunter Hill, who were both involved in the direction and production of Piper’s channel.
Staging romantic crushes and sexualizing content
The plaintiffs were all once a part of 15-year-old Piper Rockelle’s ‘Piper Squad,’ and were featured on her YouTube channel, which has over 10 million subscribers. Children and young teenagers make up the cast of the ‘Squad,’ and their relationships and antics are broadcast to millions of viewers. Despite their age, the plaintiffs said they were asked to stage romantic ‘crushes’ on each other, meant to fool young audiences.
The complaint also accuses Smith of making shocking remarks about the teens’ genitalia, including reportedly asking one content maker how long his penis was. She also allegedly told another creator she was flat-chested.
In another instance, the complaint claims Smith mailed an unknown man her daughter’s underwear because ‘old men like to smell this stuff’ she allegedly told one of the plaintiffs.
The mother is also accused of touching the legs, thighs and buttocks of the children inappropriately, and encouraging the teens to be sexually aggressive during video shoots to make the staged romantic connection look more real, the lawsuit states.
The pretend romantic crushes that the young creators were supposed to have on each other allegedly caused online bullying, according to NBC News.
‘I just want peace back with my kids,’ Ashley Anne-Rock Smith told NBC. Her two daughters are cousins of Rockelle and appeared in 94 of her videos.
‘I want all predators who hurt young kids to be brought to justice,’ she said. ‘I also hope we move the needle on these platforms that are allowing this.’
Mom counters claims are baseless
The plaintiffs were never compensated by Smith for their likeness which was used to promote Piper’s content, the lawsuit alleges. However, they acknowledged that compensation wasn’t promised beforehand.
When nine of the content creators left ‘Piper’s Squad,’ their own YouTube channels got less clicks and subscribers, according to the suit. The plaintiffs claimed Smith and her boyfriend falsely flagged their videos as inappropriate or embedded their content on porn sites so it was restricted on YouTube.
As a result, they all missed out on collecting more revenue, the suit says.
Smith countersued for $30 million in July, claiming the plaintiffs’ mothers were working together to exhort money by making up lies about any alleged sexual abuse, but she dropped it shortly after, NBC News reported.
One of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs reportedly called Smith’s claims ‘baseless.’
Piper was only 9-years-old when she became an online sensation.
Where are the protections for children?
Piper’s channel was demonetized in February 2022 after Business Insider reached out to YouTube about the numerous allegations against Smith and Hill.
Contemplated Steevy Areeco, the mother of another plaintiff: ‘We all love YouTube and it’s a great place, but when somebody is using it as a business and pulling other children in, those people should have to uphold a certain standard.’
Adding, ‘We want there to be protections for the children.’
YouTube to date has declined to respond to media overtures for comment.
