Left: HOLLYWOOD, CA — NOVEMBER 21: Piper Rockelle participates in the 2nd Annual Toys For Tots Toy Drive held at The Industry Loft Space on November 21, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images). Right: Tiffany Smith (Piper Rockelle/YouTube). Inset: Former members of the Piper Squad (Getty Images).
A group of teenagers have settled a lawsuit with the mother of a popular YouTube star over allegations of sexual abuse and retaliation, according to an attorney representing them.
In January 2022, the teenagers sued Tiffany Smith, 41, the mother of online phenom Piper Rockelle, in a Los Angeles County court — alleging numerous counts of sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and that she tried to destroy their YouTube careers after they stopped working with her daughter.
Each of the 11 plaintiffs had previously been a member of the eponymous “Piper Squad,” a group dedicated to creating various short-form videos that appeared on Rockelle’s YouTube channel.
In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, plaintiffs attorney Matt Sarelson said the matter was settled and called it the “most complicated and high profile case of my career.”
The civil lawsuit alleged a parade of horribles allegedly uttered by Smith while she oversaw her daughter’s content creation machine.
One time, Smith allegedly commented on the size of a girl’s breasts. Another time, she allegedly referred to two boys as “horny bastards” while they held hands with two girls. And, in a particularly disturbing claim, allegedly explained that she was mailing her daughter’s dirty underwear to someone because “old men like to smell this stuff.”
The lawsuit also claims Smith boasted of the fine line between sexualized content and exploitation of children — allegedly claiming to be the “madam” or “pimp” of YouTube and even allegedly saying she “makes kiddie porn.”
“The allegations are very disturbing,” Sarelson told Law&Crime’s Angenette Levy last year. Five of the children are making some kind of a claim for actual battery but all 11 of the kids have similar allegations of abuse — comments. “It’s important to understand what these videos are about. These are kids who are scripted to have sort of fake boyfriends and fake girlfriends and to interact with these other kids. So, sure some of the allegations in this case include, you know, lots of inappropriate language and commentary about my clients’ genitalia, their sexual history or activity — which was which was essentially non-existent because these are young kids as young as nine.”
The lawsuit also alleges Smith showed one of the children a popular pornography website. In one instance, Rockelle’s mother allegedly discussed sex toys with a group of teenagers — and even asked one boy if his testicles had dropped.
One girl alleged Smith rubbed her exposed thighs and moved her hand toward her vagina, repeatedly spanked her, and used her finger to poke her in the backside over her clothing.
After the plaintiffs left the show, Smith, Rockelle, and Smith’s live-in boyfriend, Hunter Hill, who directed many of the videos, allegedly went after their own YouTube channels, according to the lawsuit.
“My youth was stripped away at a very young age because of Tiffany Rockelle,” one of the plaintiffs said in a statement provided to Law&Crime. “This lawsuit was never about money — it was to make sure she couldn’t do what she did to me to another kid.”
Each of the plaintiffs initially sought $2 million in damages.
Due to the confidential terms of the agreement, the public may never know what each of the teenagers received in the settlement.
“We didn’t pursue this lawsuit to change the industry, but to bring awareness that predators can be found in any field,” Angela Sharbino, a parent of one of the plaintiffs, said. “This was about holding the person who harmed our kids accountable.”
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs described a damaging work environment where they were coerced into inappropriate content and subjected to psychological abuse. The lawsuit claims Smith, in particular, made the children believe their self-worth was related to their performances — while discouraging independence and dissent.
“I want to publicly commend these 11 kids. They’re smart and brave,” Sarelson said. “What they went through was grotesque. I look forward to watching them thrive as young adults.”
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