Piper Rockelle, a 17-year-old social media influencer, rose to fame through her YouTube channel, amassing millions of followers by sharing pranks, challenges, and staged “crush content” with her group of friends known as “The Squad”. This group, curated by her mother and manager Tiffany Smith, became a central focus in the Netflix docuseries Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, which premiered on April 9, 2025.

The three-part series delves into the darker aspects of the child influencer industry, highlighting allegations of exploitation and abuse. In 2022, eleven former members of The Squad filed a lawsuit against Smith, accusing her of creating an emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive environment. The documentary presents testimonies from the former Squad members, including Sophie Fergi and Sawyer Sharbino, who describe long filming hours, coercive tactics, and inappropriate behaviors.

Many parts of the documentary have been said to be “disturbing” and “not okay” according to viewers. The events depicted in the episodes showcased the abuse that Rockelle and her friends had to undergo in order to make the content that would make them the most money.

The lawsuits against Smith were settled in 2024 for $1.85 million without any admission of wrongdoing. The series also sheds light on the lack of regulations protecting child influencers, drawing parallels to past instances of child exploitation in the entertainment industry.

Despite the controversy, Piper Rockelle continues to maintain a presence on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. She has publicly defended her mother and expressed the emotional toll the situation has taken on her mental health. Bad Influence serves as a cautionary tale about the potential dangers of the unregulated world on child influencers, prompting discussions about the need for stricter protections and oversight in the digital age.