Mother in $22M civil case over abuse of her daughter’s young YouTube co-creators

ByGemma Iso

April 19, 2023

Tiffany Smith, mother of 15-year-old YouTuber Piper Rockelle is facing a $22M civil case over allegations of sexually, physically, and emotionally abusing nearly a dozen of her daughter’s young co-creators.

The mother was sued by the 11 young content creators over the alleged abuse as well as lack of compensation for their work.

She was also accused of “harassment, molestation, and abuse,” according to the complaint filed in January 2022.

Smith was known to be a “mean-spirited control freak” whose exchanges with the content creators “were not only sexually inappropriate and confrontational but often reprehensible and even illegal,” the suit claims.

In total, the plaintiffs — who are all former members of the “Piper Squad” and starred on her daughter’s YouTube channel — are seeking at least $22 million in damages from Smith and her boyfriend, Hunter Hill, who is also involved in the production of Piper’s channel.

Mother Faces Complaints and accusations

The suit alleges that Smith makes 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 disturbing instance, the complaint claims Smith mailed to an unknown man her daughter’s underwear because “old men like to smell this stuff” she allegedly told one of the plaintiffs.

She also was 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.

No compensation?

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.

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.

Her channel, which has more than 10 million subscribers, was demonetized in February 2022 after Business Insider reached out to YouTube about the numerous allegations against Smith and Hill.