YouTube mom’s child abuse scandal ends in $1.85 million settlement

A yearslong case involving the mother of a popular YouTube star and 11 teen content creators who accused her of abuse and exploitation came to an end Tuesday after the parties reached a $1.85 million settlement, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs.

Tiffany Smith was sued in January 2022 by the group of teenagers who were regularly featured on her daughter Piper Rockelle’s popular YouTube channel, which at the time had 8.85 million followers. 

The creators alleged that Smith, 43, intentionally inflicted emotional distress while she held a position of “care and control” over them in the production of content for Rockelle’s YouTube channel. They said they endured physical and emotional injuries from “harassment, molestation, and abuse,” according to the complaint. 

Some of the plaintiffs also said they weren’t compensated for the use of their likenesses to promote Rockelle’s content, and all of them alleged they weren’t paid for their work and appearances, though they say they weren’t promised payment. 

In a statement announcing the settlement, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Matt Sarelson, of the Dhillon Law Group, commended them for their bravery and described what they went through as “grotesque.” 

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published in December 2022, Smith said she didn’t consider herself the plaintiffs’ employer at the time the videos were recorded with Rockelle. Smith later acquired a permit to work with minors, she told the newspaper. Smith countersued last year for $30 million, accusing the plaintiffs’ mothers of conspiring to extort money by making false sexual abuse allegations. She voluntarily abandoned the lawsuit before the mothers responded.

The plaintiffs, who are all still minors, had originally requested roughly $2 million in damages apiece, totaling at least $22 million, from Smith and her boyfriend, Hunter Hill, who is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and is part of the settlement, according to the Dhillon Law Group. The complaint identified him as the director and editor of Rockelle’s YouTube channel.

A spokesperson for the plaintiffs’ law firm said Smith denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement terms. An attorney for Smith and Hill declined to comment.

In the December 2022 interview with the Times, Hill denied claims of abuse in the lawsuit and told it he didn’t understand why the plaintiffs were so upset because “these kids were making more money than my mom makes in an entire year.”

Smith also said that once the channels were monetized, the creators were earning “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” 

The 11 young creators were on Rockelle’s channel as part of a cast known as the “Piper Squad.” In videos on Rockelle’s channel, which now has 12 million subscribers, the creators participated in various pranks and challenges. Despite their ages, the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit, they were asked to stage romantic “crushes” on one another for content purposes.

The young creators’ claims helped shed light on the lucrative and largely unregulated world of child YouTube stardom, which some have likened to the Wild West.

Many have publicly called on the industry to put regulations in place to help protect child content creators. The Fair Labor Standards Act, a 1938 law addressing “excessive child labor,” has not been updated to include child influencers. The popular YouTube family channel genre — which has been considered a lucrative business because of ad revenue and brand collaboration opportunities — has been widely criticized in recent years for relying on children to create monetized content. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom — joined by singer Demi Lovato, a former child star — signed two bills this month to protect the earnings of child influencers and content creators. A handful of other states, including Illinois, which was the first, have also introduced legislation in hope of protecting child content creators. 

Angela Sharbino, a parent of one of the plaintiffs, said that they “didn’t pursue this lawsuit to change the industry, but to bring awareness that predators can be found in any field.”

“This was never about the money — it was about holding an individual accountable, telling the truth, and taking a step toward healing,” she said in a statement. “All of these kids have now moved on from the ‘Squad’ and are closing this chapter of their lives.”