YouTube star Piper Rockelle’s mum called out by P!nk accused of sex abuse in lawsuit
The mother of 15-year-old Piper Rockelle has been accused of sexual “harassment, molestation and abuse” of 11 teens after being called out by rocker Pink.
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A teen YouTube star’s mother, who was called out by rocker P!NK, has been accused of the sexual and physical abuse of almost a dozen of her daughter’s young friends in a shocking $A33 million lawsuit.
Piper Rockelle’s mother Tiffany Smith, and her boyfriend Hunter Hill, were sued by the 11 former members of the “Piper Squad” in a civil lawsuit alleging “harassment, molestation and abuse.”
It comes after P!NK sparked worldwide scrutiny of the alleged child exploitation almost two years ago, asking “how many kids like Piper Rockwell are being exploited by their parents?”
“And at what point do the rest of us say … “this isn’t okay for a 13 yr old to be posing in a bikini whilst her MOTHER takes the photo?!?!”” P!NK added in a 2021 tweet.
How many kids like Piper Rockelle are being exploited by their parents? And at what point do the rest of us say ⦠âthis isnât okay for a 13 yr old to be posing in a bikini whilst her MOTHER takes the photo?!?!â
— P!nk (@Pink) August 29, 2021
Piper, who was nine-years-old when she became an online sensation, had her channel demonetised after the lawsuit was filed in January 2022.
The trial had been scheduled to start Monday, local time, but was pushed off to November 6, plaintiff lawyer Matt Sarelson told The New York Post.
In the complaint filed in January 2022, the children are seeking damages over lack of compensation for their work and alleged “harassment, molestation and abuse” while creating content for Rockelle’s YouTube channel, which has almost 11 million subscribers.
The suit alleges Smith, said to be a “momager” with a reputation of a “mean-spirited control freak”, had interactions with the young content creators that “were not only sexually inappropriate and confrontational but often reprehensible and even illegal”.
The complaint claims Smith mailed an unknown man her daughter’s underwear because “old men like to smell this stuff”, she allegedly told one of the plaintiffs.
It also accuses Smith of commenting about the teens’ genitalia, including reportedly asking one content maker how long his penis was, and another how she was flat-chested. She is also accused of inappropriately touching the children’s legs, thighs and buttocks.
“Smith would often boast to Plaintiffs and others about being the “Madam of YouTube” and a “Pimp of YouTube” and that she ‘makes kiddie porn’,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Smith would frequently assume an alter-ego “Lenny the Dead Cat” and chase Plaintiffs around her house shouting obscene and sexually graphic phrases such as: I’m going to f*** you up the arse; I’m going to touch you in your sleep; Yeah mama/little boy/little girl, let’s make out, let’s kiss. “
“Smith would frequently spank and/or otherwise slap several of Plaintiffs’ buttocks and also attempt to (and occasionally succeed in) ‘probing’ and/or otherwise ‘sticking a finger’ in Plaintiffs’ butts as they passed by her on or off set.
She is accused of asking various Plaintiffs whether they have had sex before, “including oral sex, and then encouraging Plaintiffs to try oral sex”.
She is also accused of encouraging the teens to be sexually aggressive during video shoots in an effort to stage romantic connections, the lawsuit states. The pretend romantic crushes that the young creators were supposed to have on each other allegedly caused online bullying, NBC News reported.
“I just want peace back with my kids,” Ashley Anne-Rock Smith told the outlet. Her two daughters are cousins of Rockelle and appeared in nearly 100 of her videos.
The 11 plaintiffs, who are all former members of the “Piper Squad” that starred on the YouTube channel of Smith’s daughter, are seeking at least USD $22 million ($A33 million) in damages from Smith and her boyfriend, Hill, who is also involved in the production of Piper’s channel.
The plaintiffs were never compensated by Smith for their likeness which was used to promote Piper’s content, the lawsuit alleges. However, they acknowledged there was never a promise of compensation.
When nine of the content creators left “Piper’s Squad,” their own YouTube channels got less clicks and subscribers, according to the suit. The plaintiffs claimed Smith and her boyfriend falsely flagged their videos as inappropriate or embedded their content on porn sites so it was restricted on YouTube.
As a result, they all missed out on collecting more revenue, the suit says.
Smith countersued for $30 million in July, claiming the plaintiffs’ mothers were working together to exhort money by making up lies about any alleged sexual abuse, but she dropped it shortly after, NBC News reported. One of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs reportedly called Smith’s claims “baseless.”
– With The New York Post
Originally published as YouTube star Piper Rockelle’s mum called out by P!nk accused of sex abuse in lawsuit