[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Tiffany Smith is facing some very serious allegations.
The mother of teen YouTube star Piper Rockelle, who boasts over 10 million subscribers, is set to begin trial Monday after being accused of “harassment, molestation, and abuse” by multiple teen members of the “Piper Squad”. The influencers all worked with Piper and her mother from 2017 to 2020 as members of the Squad, which followed the young friend group via vlog.
The 11 teen plaintiffs in the case have accused Smith of “emotional, verbal, physical, and at times, sexual abuse,” according to an official complaint filed back in January of 2022. The mother was accused of many specific instances of abuse, such as:
- “sticking a finger in Plaintiffs’ butts as they passed by her on or off set”
- mailing “Piper’s soiled training bras and panties to an unknown individual”
- making sexually explicit comments to the male members of the squad about their penises
Wow… How absolutely DISGUSTING.
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Additionally, the plaintiffs claim to have not been compensated for their contributions, and for the use of their likeness to help drive interest for the online content. However, it’s unclear if the young teens were ever promised payment to begin with. The lawsuit further claimed Smith plotted to “intentionally interfere with and sabotage Plaintiffs’ individual YouTube channels by driving subscribers and video ‘views’ down (thereby significantly diminishing Plaintiffs’ own revenue) through the use of bots, false flagging/reporting on supposed ‘inappropriate content.’”
As a result, each teen is seeking $2 million in damages from Smith, combining for a total of $22 million. Smith allegedly countersued last summer for $30 million for extortion, but apparently dropped the case shortly after.
YouTube is unlike professional film sets where minors are protected by strict laws, as the “nontraditional filming environments” are not as monitored, according to the teens’ attorney Matthew Sarelson, via NBC News on Sunday. Ashley Anne-Rock Smith, whose two daughters are plaintiffs in the case, as well as cousins to Piper, told the outlet:
“I just want peace back with my kids. I want all predators who hurt young kids to be brought to justice. I also hope we move the needle on these platforms that are allowing this.”
Steevy Areeco, a mother of another plaintiff in the case, added:
“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. We want there to be protections for the children.”
Fair enough.
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Sarelson said in a statement:
“This lawsuit seeks to remedy the egregious conduct of Piper’s handlers. YouTube has created an enormous opportunity to create wealth, but there’s always going to be people gaming the system to harm competitors. Our clients are just kids. They’re good kids with big futures. A part of their childhood, a part of their innocence, has been stolen.”
Those poor kids. We hope to see justice served to the fullest extent! We’ll have to see what a jury thinks that is… Let us know all your thoughts in the comments down below.
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Images via Piper Rockelle/Instagram]
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