Influencer Sophie Fergi Opens Up About Filming Netflix’s “Bad Influence,” Leaving The Squad, and What She’d Say to Former Friend Piper Rockelle

Netflix’s new smash hit documentary, Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing explores the wild story of The Squad, a group of kid influencers formed in 2017, who reached the peak of viral fame. At the center of The Squad was Piper Rockelle, a wildly successful kid influencer, and her mother, Tiffany Smith, who spearheaded the group’s collaborations. Though the fame and money from membership in The Squad seemed like a dream come true, that dream was shattered when the group disbanded after a few years and 11 of the former members filed a lawsuit against Tiffany Smith and her then-boyfriend Hunter Hill in 2022. The lawsuit alleged that Smith had failed to compensate some of The Squad members properly and accused her of “emotional, verbal, physical, and at times, sexual abuse.” Smith denied the allegations and the lawsuit eventually reached a $1.85 million settlement, which included no admission of wrongdoing by Smith.

But the Netflix series, which premiered on April 9, rehashed the allegations, diving into former Squad members’ stories as they reflect on their time with Rockelle and Smith. Sophie Fergi, 17, was one of those former members who shared her experience of being a kid influencer – and allegations of sexual misconduct by Smith – in the documentary. Fergi discussed long filming hours, said she felt uncomfortable in multiple filming scenarios, and alleged that Smith sexually abused her while acting as what the lawsuit describes as an “alter-ego identity as ‘Lenny the Dead Cat.’” Smith declined comment for the documentary, but issued a statement to People shortly before its release, calling the allegations against her “unfounded.”

“This whole experience — from the claims and power plays from the stage moms to, now, the Netflix reality show — has been the most upsetting and difficult experience of my life,” she said. “And it’s been even harder for my daughter, Piper, who’s become collateral damage in a mess of adults behaving badly.” Teen Vogue has reached out to Smith and Rockelle for comment.

Teen Vogue caught up with Fergi to discuss the filming of the documentary, what viewers don’t know, and what she would tell Piper if she could. The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Teen Vogue: The documentary has been a hit. What has the reaction been like from other people?

Sophie Fergi: I would say it’s been a pretty powerful response. We’re getting a lot of love. I’ve been hit up by a lot of different people just saying sorry, and that they didn’t know and they feel bad watching the content or that they did watch the videos, which nobody should feel bad for. But it’s been a lot of love for the most part. There’s obviously going to be people who want to criticize what happened. I don’t know if I want to label it necessarily hate. I just think there’s a lot of critics that are criticizing what happened. It’s frustrating because the people who are criticizing weren’t there, so they don’t really know what they’re talking about.

TV: What was the experience of filming the documentary like?

SF: It was a rollercoaster of emotions. I think it was a lot to sit there and relive and retell everything that happened. It was very emotional. It brought [me] back to that same mindset that I was once in. It was just very emotional to rehash everything that happened and re-say it. Now you’re telling not just a couple of people, but you have to realize that the whole world might be seeing it.

TV: It must have been really difficult to revisit that time in your life. What made you decide to take part in the documentary?

SF: One of the main reasons [is that] it’s bigger than I am. But essentially, I hope that it does reach Piper, and I hope that she can somewhat understand what’s happening in her life and understand that it’s not normal. I always felt dirty about a lot of the stuff that was happening, and I didn’t speak up and tell anyone. I want other young girls to know that you should speak up, and it’s not embarrassing. It’s not your fault that somebody’s doing these things to you. I want little girls to feel empowered and feel like they have a voice and know that they have a voice because you really do. Everyone has a voice.

TV: There’s been backlash towards the parents of ex-Squad members like yourself. People are wondering why they didn’t step in earlier and take their kids out of what has been called a toxic situation. Do you feel any resentment towards your mother or any of the other parents?

SF: I personally don’t have any resentment for any of the parents. I understand what it was like. I was also put under manipulation tactics by Tiffany, so I completely understand how it can seem like it’s not as bad as it really is. With that being said, the parents never knew about the sexual [allegations] until after. I feel like if I would have spoke up sooner about that, then yes, we would have been out of there way faster. But I don’t feel upset or mad at any of the parents because it’s not fully their fault, in my opinion. They were under these manipulation tactics and under these harsh things. And that can happen to anyone. Anyone could get manipulated. I don’t hold any resentment.

SF: I do. I still do influencing and I think it can be a really fun, powerful, exciting experience. It’s just you have to understand that there are some people in this industry – very similar to child acting – that don’t have your best interests [at heart]. But I think that if you are surrounded in the right environment, it’s okay and it can be fun. I don’t know how young I will recommend it because at some point, I feel like if a child is doing it too young, it’s not necessarily their choice. But I will say that for me, now that I do social media outside of that toxic environment I was in, it’s been nothing but love and fun, and I get so much excitement from it now.

TV: How old were you when you started social media?

SF: I want to say [around] 9 or 10 but I didn’t get into it seriously until I was about 11. I don’t think it was too young [to be an influencer]. I think it was too young for the environment I was placed in.

TV: If you could go back in time, would you still be a kid influencer?

SF: I think everything happens for a reason. I’m a very big believer in that. If I could go back and change it, I don’t know. I feel like everything happens for a reason. I think that the reason that this happened, as sad as it is and as dramatic as it is, I’m given a voice to now advocate for other people.

TV: Though you and other ex-Squad members filed a lawsuit against Tiffany alleging sexual and verbal abuse, the lawsuit ended in a settlement. Is that difficult for you to know?

SF: It bothers me tremendously. To see somebody who did terrible things to you, live completely fine … and be able to still do the evil things that she was doing, it hurts. It would hurt anyone.

TV: Is there anything you want to share that was not in the documentary? What do you want people to know?

SF: I would like to say that there were lots of different occurrences with Lenny. Lenny is Tiffany. She voiced a dead cat and would do very sexual things to people, myself included. I think people watching it obviously got a little knowledge of Lenny, but there’s so much more to Lenny, and there’s so many more stories that I personally have, and that other people personally have, that when I feel that the time is completely right, that I want to come out about.

TV: If you could say anything to Piper, what would you say?

SF: I don’t know if I would say anything. I would almost want to just grab her by the hand and just get her away. I want her to know that it’s not okay what’s happening, and you are so much more than the camera that’s in your face. You are so much more than what your mom’s doing, and you deserve so much better. I really wish that she knew how amazing life can be when you are away from that situation and how beautiful you can have this world be. I would want her to know it’s not her fault, and she needs to get away.

SF: I hope my future is filled with nothing but positive energy. I want good energy, positive energy, and I hope to have my career still going. I hope that I’m just surrounded by a lot of love in my future, and I have a lot of good successes.