Piper Rockelle grew up on social media, however her rise to fame has been mired by controversy and concern over the protection of kid influencers.
Piper and her mother, Tiffany Smith, started posting on YouTube when she was 8. They have been later assisted by Tiffany’s then-boyfriend, Hunter Hill. When she began out, Piper’s account was stuffed with movies of her rotating tween buddy group, generally known as “The Squad” or the “Piper Squad.”
The group rose to fame with prank movies, trending challenges and content material about their crushes, which drew criticism given the youngsters’s younger ages. Years after the group first went viral, Tiffany was accused of abuse by members of the “Piper Squad.”
In January 2022, 11 of the teenagers filed a lawsuit towards Tiffany. The criticism alleged that the plaintiffs weren’t compensated for his or her time collaborating with Piper and that they have been topic to “inappropriate, offensive and abusive therapy,” together with “wildly offensive and sexually express feedback.”
Tiffany publicly denied all allegations and settled the lawsuit in October 2024 for almost $2 million with all events particularly disclaiming any legal responsibility. Now, Piper and Tiffany’s years in content material creation are documented in a three-part Netflix docuseries, Unhealthy Affect: The Darkish Aspect of Kidfluencing, which premiered on Netflix on April 9.
Right here is all the things to learn about Piper Rockelle’s social media profession and the place she is now after her mom was accused of abuse.
Who’s Piper Rockelle?
Piper Rockelle/ Instagram
Piper Rockelle was born in Georgia in 2007 to Tiffany Smith. Her beginning father reportedly left the household when Tiffany was pregnant and in 2021, a supposed reunion between Piper and her organic father hit over 7 million views on YouTube.
Within the first episode of Unhealthy Affect, Tiffany’s youthful sister, Endurance Rock Smith, described her niece as “an outgoing child. Simply dancing round, singing, smiling.”
“You may simply inform she had one thing particular in her,” Endurance mentioned of Piper, who started competing in pageants when she was 3. Endurance additionally claimed that Tiffany “beloved the eye” and needed “Piper to be the perfect.”
The pageant winner then transitioned from the competitions to the lipsyncing app Musical.ly. Later she was forged on the fact TV present Dance Twins, which Tiffany additionally appeared on. Piper was additionally forged as Skye on the present Mani at age 10 however left after Tiffany allegedly grew pissed off that one other actress obtained extra traces than her daughter, in line with the docuseries.
The mother-daughter duo later moved to Los Angeles and Hunter Hill grew to become a principal character on Piper’s YouTube channel. Of their movies, Piper known as Hunter her “brother,” however that was a personality he performed — in actuality, he was Tiffany’s boyfriend.
The tween content material creator continued to construct up her YouTube following, making movies with a bunch of different influencers who got here to be generally known as the “Piper Squad.” She additionally launched songs, together with the 2019 single “Deal with Myself” and the accompanying video was promoted as together with her “first kiss.”
Within the trailer for Unhealthy Affect, Piper is claimed to have earned between $300,000 and $500,000 per 30 days on the peak of her profession, which included model offers and different revenue streams.
Who’s Piper Rockelle’s mother, Tiffany Smith?
Piper Rockelle/ Instagram
Tiffany Smith is Piper’s mother and supervisor. She raised her daughter in Canton, Ga. whereas dwelling together with her mother and father and proudly owning a pet grooming enterprise, per the Los Angeles Instances.
The mother-daughter duo ultimately moved to L.A. the place Tiffany centered on being Piper’s momager. She then got down to amass a bunch of different younger influencers to hitch Piper in a content material home.
Who was in Piper Rockelle’s squad?
Heather Nichole/Courtesy of Netflix © 2025
Piper had a bunch of tween associates she acted in movies with known as “The Squad” (often known as the “Piper Squad”). The group included Sophie Fergi, Gavin Magnus, Walker Bryant, Sawyer Sharbino, Hayden Haas, Corinne Pleasure, Jentzen Ramirez, Raegan Beast, Symonne Harrison and Piper’s cousins, Claire and Reese Rock Smith.
As Piper’s YouTube following grew, Tiffany started inviting aspiring baby actors to hitch her daughter on digital camera reportedly in an try to make a child model of Pals. The child actors started showing in movies with Piper round 2017, and their movies skyrocketed the younger influencer’s fame and success.
The tweens posted about one another on their social media channels, and a few of the members got here to stay with Tiffany and Piper. Their movies began amassing tens of millions of views and income began coming in by way of ads.
Dad and mom of squad members claimed in Unhealthy Affect that they didn’t see any or as a lot of the cash as Piper did, and others alleged they have been below contracts with Tiffany and Hunter. A few of the mother and father claimed that Tiffany managed what the youngsters did and mentioned and that Hunter was in command of enhancing and posting on their accounts.
What did Piper Rockelle say in regards to the lawsuit towards her mom?
Piper Rockelle/ Instagram
In January 2022, 11 teen content material creators and their guardians filed a civil criticism towards Tiffany, claiming that they have been “often subjected to an emotionally, bodily and typically sexually abusive atmosphere perpetrated by Ms. Smith on and off set throughout filming periods for Piper’s YouTube channel.”
The group typically acted in movies during which sure people have been engineered into “ships,” or romantic relationships, by Tiffany, even when their mother and father reportedly thought they have been too younger for the content material.
Tiffany was additionally accused of making an attempt to kiss Raegan and sexually assaulting Sophie, Claire and Reese. The momager and Hunter denied the allegations specified by the lawsuit and in the summertime of 2023, Tiffany countersued for $30 million, per Insider, saying the moms of the youngsters have been making an attempt to extort her. She shortly deserted the lawsuit.
The lawsuit towards Tiffany was settled in October 2024 with a $1.85 million payout that was entered with all events particularly disclaiming any legal responsibility.
In a social media video shared within the docuseries, Piper addressed Squad members leaving the group forward of the lawsuit. “They all the time blame it on a poisonous, you already know, place, atmosphere. It’s actually not,” she mentioned within the clip. “We’re all actually, actually good associates and we have now lots of enjoyable.”
In an announcement issued to PEOPLE after the lawsuit was settled, Piper described the “entire expertise” as “extraordinarily painful and, truthfully, onerous to know.”
“Not simply due to the individuals making ridiculous claims about me and my household — but in addition how the media has been,” she mentioned. “It is turn out to be not possible to even have a look at my cellphone or do regular, day-to-day issues. It has been so extremely painful. Thank goodness for my household. And thank goodness that is lastly behind us.”
Like a few of the Squad members and their mother and father, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Matthew Sarelson, expressed issues about Piper’s well-being within the midst of the lawsuit.
Within the docuseries, he advised a few of the mothers who sued Tiffany, “There’s a sufferer in all of this who isn’t represented at this desk and will not know she’s a sufferer. And that’s Piper. Piper has no voice in any of this … She’s been very restricted in what she will do and who she will work together with.”
He claimed, “The primary sufferer right here is Piper.”
Are former Squad members nonetheless associates with Piper Rockelle?
Courtesy of Netflix© 2025
Most of the Squad members who left the content material home have additionally expressed concern for Piper.
Claire acknowledged it was tough to go away her cousin behind, saying in Unhealthy Affect that she was afraid Piper may really feel like she “was abandoning her.”
“It was simply actually onerous to go away her, and I nonetheless really feel dangerous about it,” she mentioned. “I simply need her to know that it’s not her fault. I don’t need her in charge herself for something, and I nonetheless love her, and I nonetheless look after her very a lot.”
Corinne described Piper as “an excellent candy lady” and mentioned she desires the perfect for her. “All of us are right here for her and we’d assist her,” she mentioned. “There’s so a lot better that she deserves.”
The place is Piper Rockelle now?
Piper Rockelle/ Instagram
Piper continues to be working as an influencer. She posts usually on TikTok, together with movies together with her boyfriend, Capri.
Earlier than the lawsuit, Piper was making between $4.2 million and $7.5 million per 12 months, per the Los Angeles Instances. After the allegations towards her mom, YouTube allegedly demonetized Piper’s channel, which reportedly misplaced her enterprise between $300,000 and $500,000 a month, in line with court docket data obtained by the L.A. Instances.
She started branching out to different platforms, together with Snapchat (her bio says the account is “managed by mum or dad”) and BrandArmy.
Within the docuseries, former Squad members observe that Piper’s newer content material seems extra “provocative.” In February 2025, she visited Bop Home and filmed movies with a few of its residents, who’re identified for primarily making OnlyFans content material.
After criticism arose over her involvement in the home as a minor, Piper advised PEOPLE in an announcement that she was “so grateful for the chance to collab with the Bop Home creators.”
As of April 2025, Piper’s YouTube bio learn, “I’m a woman dwelling my dream in Hollywood.” Tiffany, Hunter and Piper all declined to be interviewed for Netflix’s Unhealthy Affect.