2023
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Tiffany Marie Smith (born 1982) is an American actor known for portraying 'Meghan Markle' in the 2019 film "Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal", among other roles.
Tiffany Smith is a versatile and multi-talented performer who has appeared in TV shows, movies, video games and web series. She is known for her roles as Meghan Markle, Hawkgirl, Dr. Sandra Turk and more.
- January 1, 1
- 1.65 m
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Overview
- Smith is accused of child abuse and retaliation
- How social media stars avoid legal accountability
The mother of a teen YouTube star will face claims of emotional, physical and sexual abuse from 11 teen content creators who were featured on her daughter’s channel in a trial that starts Monday.
The court proceedings will offer a rare glimpse into the lucrative and largely unregulated world of child YouTube stardom.
All of the teen plaintiffs allege in the complaint, filed in January 2022, that Tiffany Smith, the mother of YouTube star Piper Rockelle, intentionally inflicted emotional distress while she held a position of “care and control” over them in the production of content for Rockelle’s YouTube channel. The teen creators allege that they endured physical and emotional injuries from “harassment, molestation, and abuse,” according to the complaint.
In addition, some of the plaintiffs say they weren’t compensated for the use of their likenesses to promote Rockelle’s content, and all of them say they weren’t paid for their work and appearances, though they say they weren’t promised payment.
Some of the allegations against Smith have repeatedly piqued interest of concerned outsiders, offering a glimpse into the “Wild West” world of YouTube child stardom.
YouTube itself doesn’t take responsibility for the offscreen conduct of its creators, and there are surprisingly few regulations around the creation of social media content involving children. Instead, the teens are each asking for roughly $2 million in damages, totaling at least $22 million, from Smith and her boyfriend, Hunter Hill, who the complaint identifies as the director and editor of Rockelle’s YouTube channel.
In the 147-page complaint, the plaintiffs described Smith as a “mean-spirited control freak” and alleged she made comments about children’s genitalia, shouted obscene and sexually graphic remarks at them, encouraged them to be “sexy” and “sexually aggressive” in videos, and inappropriately touched the children on their legs, thighs and buttocks. One plaintiff said Smith told her she was mailing Rochelle’s underwear to a man who liked to “sniff” it.
“As children, they don’t understand it, sometimes it goes over their heads,” said Steevy Areeco, the mother of another plaintiff. “But now they’re older and they’re starting to understand the trauma that was caused, the things that were said to them, these fake crushes.”
Areeco and some of the other parents and plaintiffs had experience in traditional media before joining the “Squad.” Sarelson, the attorney, told NBC News that the guidelines for child actors on TV and movie sets don’t apply for nontraditional filming environments, like YouTube. Areeco said that the “Squad” wasn’t acting, since Smith wanted “real reactions” from the children and would “force them to live these adult situations they shouldn’t have been put in.”
“We all love YouTube and it’s a great place, but when somebody is using it as a business and pulling other children in, those people should have to uphold a certain standard,” Areeco said. “We want there to be protections for the children.”
YouTube demonetized Rockelle’s channel in February 2022, after Insider sent the platform a request for comment about the lawsuit filed against Smith. That means the channel no longer makes money from ads. Rockelle makes money by selling merchandise and is currently on tour in the U.S. to perform music and meet fans.
According to the lawsuit, in addition to not getting paid, nine of the plaintiffs alleged that Smith and Hill “sabotaged” their YouTube channels after they left the “Squad” by falsely flagging their content as inappropriate and embedding their content on pornographic websites so they would be “deemed ‘restricted’” by YouTube. The nine plaintiffs said Smith and Hill owe them at least $2 million in lost earnings from YouTube.
Even before the lawsuit was filed, Smith and the parents of former “Squad” members pursued legal action against each other, and Rockelle became part of tabloid headlines.
In September 2021, YouTube removed three of Rockelle’s thumbnail images for violating its Child Safety Policy shortly after the singer P!nk tweeted that Rockelle was being “exploited” by her mother. At the time, both Rockelle and Smith responded that there was nothing wrong with the photos, with Smith telling outlets through a representative that she wanted to “protect” and support her daughter.
In April 2020, Smith sued one “Squad” parent who isn’t a party to the current lawsuit for defamation. The case was later settled, but in an August 2020 court filing, a content creator named Raegan Fingles signed a declaration accusing Smith of giving him alcohol and aggressively kissing him while livestreaming when he was 17. An attached exhibit contained a screenshot of the moment on the livestream. Fingles told the Los Angeles Times that the FBI interviewed him about the incident in June. In response to the Times, Smith acknowledged the kiss happened, but said the incident had been “greatly blown out of proportion.”
The FBI did not immediately return a request for comment.
As the dispute between Smith and the parents of former “Squad” members winds up in court, the genre of YouTube content involving child influencers has only grown in popularity.
Catalina Goanta, an associate professor in law and technology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, has researched child influencers around the world and said the industry has boomed as more forms of monetization become available, like advertising revenue, merchandising, live events and sponsorships. Still, there are few forms of protection for the child stars of YouTube.
118K Followers, 1,412 Following, 429 Posts - Tiffany Smith (@tiffany_smith) on Instagram: "Actor. Presenter. Producer. @mptf #NextGen Board".
Tiffany Smith is a multi-hyphenate who acts, hosts and does web content. She will play Meghan Markle in Lifetime's "Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal" and has appeared on shows like Supernatural and Jane The Virgin.
May 27, 2019 · Newcomer Tiffany Smith assumes Markle's royal duties this time around. "I had the most incredible time, and it was a life-changing experience," Smith tells Glamour.
May 27, 2019 · Tiffany Smith & Charlie Field take on the role of a lifetime as Prince Harry & Meghan Markle in ‘Becoming Royal’. ‘Becoming Royal’ premieres on Lifetime May 27th at 8pm ET. Subscribe to ...
- 11 min
- 68.4K
- People
