Hunter Hill, now 28, rose to visibility in the social media space as a videographer and editor who worked closely with Piper Rockelle – often appearing on her channel as an older big brother-type figure, as well as co-ordinating shoots behind-the-scenes.
Before long, Hunter was also shooting content for other members of Piper's infamous YouTube Squad too and formed a romantic relationship with Piper's mother, Tiffany Smith, with whom he has a decade-plus age gap. Their relationship would later attract scrutiny as allegations against the Squad's management came to light (something both he and Tiffany firmly refute and claim are financially motivated).
This is what we know about Hunter Hill's involvement with the Squad, his own dreams of a solo YouTube career and where he is now.
Who is Hunter Hill?
Hunter Hill is a social media videographer and occasional performer, who according to an LA Times interview moved from Wyoming to Hollywood at the age of 19 in the hopes of becoming an influencer himself. It's said he was inspired by the likes of Jake Paul.
However, after meeting Tiffany Smith and her daughter, Piper Rockelle, Hunter is said to have seen greater potential in the child's career vs his own, and sidelined his personal goals in order to focus on shooting content for Piper and promoting her channel.
As per the LA Times piece, Hunter "began working as an all-around producer and metadata whiz for PRI (Piper Rockelle Inc), filming and editing content for the Squad while ensuring that videos had tags and thumbnails that primed them for success".
Everyone's clicking on...
He also developed a romantic relationship with Tiffany despite their ten-year-plus age gap and lived with her and Piper.
In his YouTube bio, Hunter describes his page as featuring "tons of funny content like prank videos, challenge, and basic vlogs".
He adds, "Also I film constantly with my family Piper Rockelle, Tiffany Smith, and Frank Pugan. Normally my days are full of filming with The Squad, Lev Cameron, Jentzen Ramirez, Elliana Walmsley, Emily Dobson, and Jenna Davis. However, when I get free time I will be making videos to post here so SUBSCRIBE! If you enjoy top of the line quality, funny content, and high, fast paced videos you came to the right place."
How was Hunter Hill involved with Piper Rockelle's Squad?
Hunter Hill played a central role in Piper Rockelle's Squad dynamics, not only as an occasionally featured personality but as the leading cameraman and editor of the Squad's content (for both Piper's channel and the other young influencers involved, too).
In the Netflix docuseries, Bad Influence, one ex-Squad member, Sawyer Sharbino alleges that when he joined the group he was told to relinquish control of his content to Hunter and Tiffany. "[It] seemed like a good opportunity," he reflects in one episode, and later expresses regret at his involvement with Tiffany, Hunter and Piper.
Sophie Fergi, another former Squad member, also says in the film "Hunter made it seem like he was one of us" when talking about how it felt to work with him, and Claire Rock Smith, another ex-Squad star who is Piper's cousin/Tiffany's niece, says, "Hunter was the person who put the action towards [Tiffany's] ideas."
Sophie later says it seems bizarre to her that a man of Hunter's age wanted to spend so much time around tween YouTubers.
What has Hunter Hill been accused of?
Hunter Hill, alongside Tiffany Smith, was named in a shocking $22 million lawsuit filed in 2022 by 11 former members of the Squad. The allegations against Hunter included enabling a work environment said to be riddled with abuse and exploitation and using bots and other means to crush Piper's rivals/ex-Squad members' YouTube channels. The mother of one former Squad star claims Hunter would embed content made by rival content creators on porn sites to skew the algorithm.
Hunter’s role within the Squad was queried too, as he was frequently involved in the day-to-day management and filming of the group's hugely popular content.
Both he and Tiffany have denied all accusations, with Tiffany claiming they're financially motivated and stem from jealousy at Piper's success.
Speaking to the LA Times about the accusation he sabotaged ex-Squad members online, Hunter said the drop in ratings that people saw after quitting the Squad was down to their lack of association with Piper. "If we’re talking star power, Piper’s the star right? You put her face on a thumbnail, you’re getting, like, 50% more clicks," Hunter said.
Three years after the suit was filed, both parties agreed to settle and the ex-Squad members were awarded $1.8 million between them.
Where is Hunter Hill now?
Since the controversy surrounding the Squad, Hunter Hill has largely stayed out of the limelight; he hasn't posted on his personal YouTube channel in ten months (his last upload was a video of him and Piper doing a fart spray prank together). It's reported that he still regularly shoots content for Piper and her boyfriend, Capri.
Hunter also hasn't shared anything to his Instagram grid since August 2024. His final post there, to his 340,000 followers, was a selfie in which he's holding a fish with the caption 'I'm hooked'.
Given that he still follows her, it looks like Hunter's relationship with Tiffany Smith is still going, but both are now struggling to manage their reputations in the YouTube and influencer space.
Cosmopolitan UK has reached out to Hunter for comment.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
