NetflixYouTuber Jentzen Ramirez has responded to the claims made by his mother Johna Kay Ramirez in the Netflix Piper Rockelle docu-series, Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
The new documentary series examines a series of disturbing claims about Piper’s momager Tiffany Smith, who is accused of exploiting and manipulating her daughter, as well as fellow members of child influencing group The Squad.
That includes social media star Jentzen. In Bad Influence, his estranged mother Johna claims Tiffany drove a wedge between them, causing a rift in their family. According to Johna, Tiffany told Jentzen that his mom was only in it for the money.
By the end of 2020, they were no longer talking, and Johna even alleges that Tiffany purposely filmed a YouTube video in her house in order to send a threatening message. Now, Jentzen has broken his silence on the situation.
Jentzen slams “lies” in Piper Rockelle documentary
In a YouTube video shared on April 13, Jentzen says that he felt he had to defend his position after the Netflix docu-series. He accuses his mom of exploiting him for money, and that Tiffany “ did not manipulate me into doing and making the decisions that I made.”
The former Squad member says he was initially interested in rebuilding a relationship with Johna, but that she made it difficult when she went public with their situation in an article.
“Then my mom decides to go on one of the biggest streaming platforms in the entire world and share my family’s story,” he explains. “So now I have no choice but to defend myself, and guys, I’m not doing this to attack my mom. I never wanted for any of this to happen.”
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In the early days of his YouTube channel, Jentzen’s mom was there helping out with his content.
“But she went behind my back and created a company. She signed legal documents without my knowledge or my consent to where she owned 50% of my company, where she got 50% of all revenue that I brought in – 50% of my YouTube AdSense, 50% of my brand deals,” he says.
“In the documentary, my mom and Jennifer said that Tiffany manipulated me into thinking that my mom was stealing my money. Tiffany never did that. I didn’t need anyone to manipulate me because it was the truth.”
Throughout the video, Jentzen shares legal documents, bank statements, and messages to support his comments. He says Johna shut down brand deals “ not because there was anything wrong with the brand deal, but because she was afraid she wouldn’t get a piece of it.”
NetflixThings became even more complicated when his parents got divorced. Even though his sister was appointed as his temporary guardian in the courts, as he was a minor at the time, this was only for personal decisions.
His sister ”couldn’t make any financial decisions, anything regarding my company, because my mom still had control over 50% and it was even worse because everything had to go through the courts.”
“I ended up paying $17,500 to my mom to leave me alone,” he continues. ”That whole process that I just mentioned was so that I could emancipate myself, and that wasn’t because I didn’t want my mom to be my mother… It was because I was stuck.”
“To make this very clear to prove why my mom was lying in the documentary, I emancipated myself a year or two after I left The Squad, a year or two of me not even talking to Tiffany,” he adds.
Jentzen describes a number of situations in which he accuses Johna of acting poorly, including one instance where he went to Disneyland for Piper Rockelle’s birthday. His mom “decided to call the Anaheim Police Department and file a missing person’s report on her son.”
The whole situation left him feeling scared, as the police showed up and searched him before taking him outside while he waited for Johna to show up.
He also accuses her of inviting his ex-girlfriend to his grandmother’s funeral, reading through his personal text messages, and putting cameras all over the house to track him.
Jentzen finishes by addressing the allegations of sexual abuse against Tiffany, saying, “ I want people to understand that I fully support survivors of SA and my heart goes out to every survivor, and I feel for every single one of you.
“And I’m not making this video to discredit anyone who has gone through that. It is not my intentions at all. That being said, I personally did not have that experience, and I don’t wanna be placed in that narrative without my consent…
“I also do not agree how Netflix portrayed the events, especially relating to my mom. And for the record, it is of my personal belief and my legal counsel’s opinion that this violates my publicity rights under the California code.”
Viewers still believe Tiffany Smith should be “behind bars”
NetflixThe video has received more than half a million views since its release, as well as thousands of comments, with many highlighting that Jentzen’s experiences and the allegations against Tiffany can coexist.
“Just remember just because Jentzen didn’t experience abuse from Tiffany doesn’t mean that the other Squad members didn’t,” wrote one. “He’s just simply addressing that it did not happen to him. Tiffany is not innocent, she should be put behind bars.”
Another said, “The accusations against Tiffany and Jentzen’s truth about his relationship with his mom can coexist. Jentzen isn’t denying the other ex squad member’s allegations against Tiffany.
“He’s saying that it’s not what his particular problem with the documentary is. It’s overall a sad situation for Squad members, and I hope everyone can find peace.”
“Honestly we all agree Tiffany is an abuser, but we also can all agree that almost all of the parents mostly cared about the money and didn’t protect their kids,” added a third.
A fourth chimed in, “Jentzen isn’t saying that he defends Tiffany and her actions, it’s just he specifically didn’t have a negative experience with her and if he did it was overshadowed by his mother’s actions.”
Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing is streaming on Netflix now. For more true crime news, read about where Rex Heuermann is now, find out when the next episode of Good American Family drops, and check out the most shocking details in the Karen Read docu-series.