A case that has lasted for many years involving the mother of a YouTube star and 11 other teen content creators was finally settled this week.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs, who alleged that the mother was abusive and exploited them, said that a settlement totaling $1.85 million was reached on Tuesday.
In January of 2022, a group of teenagers sued Tiffany Smith. These teens were featured regularly on Smith’s daughter’s popular channel on YouTube. At the time, Piper Rockelle had 8.85 million followers on the platform.
The teens claimed that the 43-year-old Smith inflicted on them emotional distress while she maintained a position of “care and control” over them in how the content for her daughter’s channel was produced.
The complaint said they suffered emotional and physical injuries from various types of abuse carried out by Smith.
Some of those who were part of the case said they were never compensated for the use of their likeness in promoting the content on Rockelle’s page. All said they never received money for appearances or their work. They did say they were never promised a payment, though.
Matt Sarelson of the Dhillon Law Group, commended the plaintiffs in a statement for the bravery that they displayed, saying some of the things they experienced were “grotesque.”
In speaking to the Los Angeles Times in late 2022, Smith said she never considered herself to be an employer of the plaintiffs when they were recording videos with her daughter.
She did say, though, that at some point she acquired a permit so that she could work with minors.
Last year, Smith filed a counter lawsuit of $30 million that accused the mothers of the plaintiffs of conspiring to extort money out of her and of making false allegations about abuse. Before the mothers had a chance to respond to that suit, though, Smith abandoned those efforts.
All of the plaintiffs in the case are still minors. They initially requested about $2 million in damages each from Smith and Hunter Hill, her boyfriend who is also a defendant in the suit, the Dhillon Law Group said.
In the complaint, Hill is listed as the editor and director of the YouTube channel in question.
A spokesperson for the law firm representing the plaintiffs said that as part of the settlement agreement, Smith has denied any wrongdoing. An attorney who represented both Smith and Hill in this case declined to make a comment.
The 11 teens who were featured on the channel were known as the “Piper Squad.” They were featured in various challenges and pranks that were recorded as episodes for the channel.
Part of the lawsuit says that the plaintiffs at times were asked to fake romantic “crushes” on other members of the “Piper Squad” for the content, even though they were so young.
Still, in her 2022 interview with the Times, Hill denied any abuse claims and said she couldn’t figure out why they were so upset since “these kids were making more money than my mom makes in an entire year,” claiming that they earned “hundreds of thousands of dollars” once they monetized the channel.