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The mother of a YouTube star in the United States is facing a court case. Tiffany Smith (41) was reported for "harassment and abuse," according to the complaint filed in January 2022 by 11 teenagers who had collaborated on videos for the channel of Piper Rockelle (15), a young woman with more than 10 million subscribers. The trial, scheduled to begin in Los Angeles on Monday, has been postponed to Nov. 6, according to the New York Post.

The young people denounced that they endured "a toxic environment, disastrous filming conditions and exploitation" in the recordings between 2017 and 2021. At that time the youtuber generated between 4.2 and 7.5 million dollars a year (which is 3.8 and 6.9 million euros).

Others have also claimed that Rockelle's mother 'sold photos of her own daughter online, without her consent'

But according to the Los Angeles Times the seriousness of the lawsuit jumped with the accusations of sexual assault by the 11 young people to Rockell's mother, for which they claim 22 million dollars in damages according to the aforementioned media, which echoed several testimonies.

One of them – who was 17 at the time – recounted how the teenager's mother would have forcibly kissed him one day: "Tiffany grabbed my face. Piper grabbed her head and pulled her back to push her away. He kissed me again. He grabbed me by the waist and tried to pull down my underwear. Then he took me to his room."

The words of this young man were supported by the nephews of the mother who denounced that their aunt "imitated meows of her dead cat while abusing them." The rest of the testimonies focused on the environment of the recording of the Youtube videos of the young woman. They denounce "a suffocating environment with incitements to adopt sexy poses in front of the cameras," according to the Los Angeles Times. Others also claimed that Rockelle's mother "sold photos of her own daughter online, without her consent."

Smith has spoken out about allegations of exploiting young people. "I have always tried to respect the laws and I have never considered myself an exploiter if children voluntarily come together to collaborate in the production of the videos," she told US media in the wake of the Los Angeles Times investigation, which revealed that the company in which Smith operated did not pay the teenagers who recorded with his daughter.

DEMONETIZED CHANNEL

Piper Rockelle started on YouTube in 2016, when she was only seven years old. He is a singer and also acted in the American series Brat Mani and Piperazzi. In her Youtube profile she defines herself as "a girl living her dream in Hollywood". "In this channel we believe in entertainment, quality, family, fun, love and good vibes. Here you can find me doing boyfriend challenges, 24-hour challenges, and more." Which translates into videos such as "We fight for my ex-boyfriend", "We are no longer friends" or "I live like a barbie for a day", uploaded by the teenager in recent weeks.

Since the filing of the complaint, made in unison by the 11 alleged victims, YouTube demonetized the Piper Rockelle channel, which continues to upload its videos to the platform. To defend herself, Tiffany Smith, supported by her daughter and denying all the accusations, denounced to the media a plot, motivated by "financial jealousy".

  • United States

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