Featured Image Credit: jessaithink / Instagram
The concept of 'child YouTubers' is one that has remained controversial for years now, and a number of recent statements from former 'stars' regarding the experiences they faced creating content from such a young age certainly isn't painting a positive picture.
While you need to be over the age of 13 in order to create a YouTube account, many parents operate channels that are centered around their children or broader 'family life', of which much of the content is focused on incredibly young kids.
It's not technically against YouTube's rules to do so – so long as the account is owned and operated by someone over the minimum age – but many believe it to be an unethical practice, especially regarding earnings and working conditions.
This has been especially topical following the viral fame of former 'kidfluencer' and current OnlyFans star Piper Rockelle, who recent defended her mother despite a significant lawsuit alleging emotional, sexual, and physical abuse towards other children.
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Several former child stars have recently come out and revealed the horrific conditions that they were subject to from their parents, and another major content creator has also now come clean and relayed the abuse and exploitation she experienced from her mother.
Jessalyn Grace had as many as 1.5 million subscribers at her peak on the platform, creating content under the direction of her mother from a young age, but fans might have noticed that her main channel was deleted with all videos removed from the platform after she uploaded a lengthy video illustrating her childhood.
Explaining the situation in a new video shared on her own personal channel, Jessalyn illustrated that her mom managed to access the account through an old iPad and deleted the video, prompting her to make a slightly shorter new one without any of the 'respectful language' she used before.
One of the biggest issues that she raises during the video is the lack of financial support or compensation she received from her mother despite years of creating content on YouTube, as there was little money put by for college while her parent bought expensive handbags, designer items, and even luxurious cars.
"It's funny that she was able to spend so much money on handbags, clothes, furniture, but when it came to setting me up for financial success, we were suddenly not doing so well or didn't have enough money," Jessalyn explained.
She also relayed the abuse that she suffered from her mother across the years, which reached a climax before she decided to move out ahead of attending UC Berkeley for college.
"She proceeded to slap me, shove me, and scream. I told her she couldn't hit me anymore because I'm eighteen, then she grabbed this wooden mallet [...] and tried swinging at me with it," and her laptop, phone, and any other devices were confiscated following this incident so she couldn't tell anyone about it.
"This isn't me accusing you of abuse, this is me telling the truth about the abuse," Jessalyn declared. "You exploited me and I let it happen, and I didn't realize it until I got older because I was your child, I am your child, and as a mom you had a responsibility you couldn't fulfil, and that's the clarity that I needed."
