Last week, Utah passed legislation that put some protections into place for child influencers, making it the fourth state to do so. Family influencing is a big thing in Utah. There are so many TikTokers, YouTubers, and even a reality TV series based on the industry. Utah’s bill was passed as a result of the Ruby Franke case, in which a popular ‘mom-fluencer’ was arrested for horrifically abusing her two younger children. The Franke family began as a YouTube channel called 8 Passengers, which starred Ruby, her now ex-husband, Kevin, and their six children.
Following Ruby’s arrest and conviction, her two older children, Shari Franke, 21, and Chad Franke, 20, began speaking out about the abuse they’d suffered during 8 Passenger’s heyday. Ruby wrote a book called The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom that came out earlier this year and both spoke out on the Hulu docuseries, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke. In honor of Utah’s new legislation, Chad and Shari’s comments appeared on Good Morning America on Monday morning. (Their interviews were conducted in January and February.) They talked about the dark side of being child influencers and vowed to never subject their own children to anything as “unethical” as family vlogging.
Ruby Franke’s children are distancing themselves from her family vlogging — with no intention of following in her footsteps. On Monday, March 31, the disgraced former parenting YouTuber’s eldest son and daughter, Shari Franke and Chad Franke, spoke with Good Morning America about the nature of vlogging with children. Chad specifically said that he won’t subject his own family to cameras when the time comes.
“I mean, Ruby clearly would slap us, flick our lips, whatever. I think Jodi [Hildebrandt, the family’s therapist] brought out the worst in her, and that’s how it got to where it ended up,” Shari said, adding, “I do think that family vlogging and family content is unethical.”
Chad, 20, added that he sees a family in his future, but not vlogging. “I eventually want to have a family, and I’ve learned from my mom’s mistakes,” he said. “We’re shutting off social media, shutting off the cameras. I’m not going to be using any kid as an employee.”
GMA3’s Eva Pilgrim reported that the children are “focused on moving on without Ruby.”
As previously reported, Ruby and Hildebrandt, were arrested in 2023 after her 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt’s home in Ivins, Utah and asked a neighbor to call the police. Authorities soon discovered that both the boy and Ruby’s 10-year-old daughter had been abused; she and Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to multiple counts of aggravated child abuse. In February 2024, they each received four separate prison sentences for 1 to 15 years, which will run consecutively.
Last week, a Utah judge signed off on Ruby and Kevin Franke’s divorce, giving Kevin — who shares six children with his ex-wife — full custody of their four children who are still minors.
As for the couple’s eldest children, Shari released her book, The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom, via Gallery Books on Jan. 7. The release details her experiences in the Franke house growing up — where her family launched the 8Passengers YouTube channel in 2015. The account eventually earned 2.5 million subscribers. The family’s story was also detailed in the Hulu three-part docuseries, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, which released in February.
Power to Shari and Chad for speaking out. It’s so important that people like them, who have been through the worst of that world, warn parents just how exploitative family influencing can be. We’re way beyond “Charlie bit my finger” territory. Those kids are constantly paraded on camera and expected to perform so that their parents can make money. It really is so unethical. They have no agency, and currently, there are no rules in place to keep them safe. Child influencers are the new child actors, and there needs to be regulations beyond just promising them some money and the opportunity to have their content removed when they turn 18. I hope we see more, stronger legislation put into place moving forward. Those kids deserve their childhood.
photos are YouTube screenshots via GMA and Inside Edition