Piper Rockelle was a young social media superstar with more than 25 million followers. She filmed pranks, challenges, and “crush content” with her friend group, The Squad. For aspiring tween influencers, joining them could unlock hundreds of thousands of followers and big-budget brand deals. But former Squad members accused Piper’s mother and manager, Tiffany, of taking advantage of them—commercially, financially, and even sexually.
The Netflix documentary series Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing investigates disturbing stories of alleged exploitation, cult-like manipulation, and abuse at the hands of Tiffany Smith. It asks hard questions about the growing sexualization of tweens and questions how far some will go to make money at the expense of children.
In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews directors Kief Davidson & Jenna Rosher.
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Bad Influence yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.
Dig deeper into all of your favorite Netflix documentaries and films at Tudum.com! This week, read their guide to the Squad, as well as where Piper and Tiffany are now.
Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.
