Netflix has revealed the first official trailer for Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, a new docuseries that explores the “shadowy world of child influencers”.
The new series, which premieres on April 9, hones in on the disturbing allegations of abuse surrounding popular YouTuber Piper Rockelle and her “momager” Tiffany Smith.
“Known collectively as The Squad, Piper and her friends staged elaborate pranks, navigated crushes, and frolicked throughout Los Angeles in search of fun, racking up billions of views – and millions of dollars – along the way,” reads a summary from Netflix.
“Virtually every step of Rockelle’s success was engineered by her mother, Tiffany Smith, who invited a number of aspiring child stars to join her daughter in front of the camera. But as time went on, several members of The Squad — as well as their parents — began to feel that something was seriously wrong.”
Netflix adds that the series “peels back the curtain to reveal Piper’s former Squad-mates’ disturbing stories of alleged exploitation, cult-like manipulation, and abuse at the hands of momager Tiffany.”
You can watch the trailer below:
The three-part docuseries is directed by Jenna Rosher and Kief Davidson and produced by Decoy Productions.
Rockelle is a 17-year-old actress and influencer who, starting at the age of 8, rose to superstardom through her YouTube channel and other social media platforms. Before finding her niche with short-form content with the help of her mother and mother’s boyfriend, Hunter Hill, she was an actor and dancer, appearing on a number of scripted and unscripted shows as a young child.
As Rockelle continued to post online, she amassed millions of followers and enormous revenue. At one point, she reportedly earned upwards of over half a million dollars per month — in the form of brand deals and other income streams.
In other Netflix news, it was recently announced that Stephen King’s canine horror Cujo will be adapted into a new movie for the streamer.
Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing will be available to stream on Netflix from April 9.