It sounds as though Piper Rockelle is ready to share her side of the story after the Netflix docuseries “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing” painted her as a potential victim under the control of her momager Tiffany Smith and Smith’s boyfriend/videographer Hunter Hill.
“What makes them think they can speak for me and why would you believe it if it’s not coming from my mouth?” 17-year-old Rockelle shared on Instagram early Monday morning. Her caption accompanied a lip-sync video to Alina’s “i know, i know, i know” that also featured the overlay text: “Can’t wait to tell my own story and not have other people tell it for me.”
She could, of course, be talking about the filmmakers themselves or perhaps her former “Squad” members who participated in the three-part doc that dropped earlier this month.
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In “Bad Influence,” YouTubers like Sophie Fergi and Reese and Claire RockSmith recount their experiences making videos alongside Rockelle as children. They are also three of the teens who accused Smith of child abuse in an 11-plaintiff lawsuit that was settled in October 2024. The group of teens received $1.85 million in total per the settlement, but no one involved was forced to admit any liability.
Rockelle, Smith and Hill all declined to be interviewed for the Netflix series.
“This whole experience — from the claims and power plays from the stage moms to, now, the Netflix reality show — has been the most upsetting and difficult experience of my life and it’s been even harder for my daughter, Piper, who’s become collateral damage in a mess of adults behaving badly,” Smith previously told People after the show premiered. “I do believe Piper will want justice one day — and see that the truth is finally shared. But in the meantime, shame on Netflix for perpetuating a knowingly false narrative that puts kids in danger. I truly can’t wait for this to all be behind us.”
“Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing” is available to stream on Netflix.
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