Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is a Netflix documentary that examines a real criminal case involving licensed therapist Jodi Hildebrandt and former family influencer Ruby Franke. The film explores how authority, belief systems, and influencer culture intersected to allow documented child abuse to occur behind a carefully managed public image.
Premiering on Netflix on December 30, 2025,
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story documents a real criminal case that unfolded gradually, not through secrecy, but through trust, authority, and moral certainty.
Rather than presenting a sudden descent into violence, the documentary focuses on process. It shows how everyday parenting decisions were reframed, step by step, until cruelty was no longer recognized as harm but accepted as necessity. This slow transformation is what makes the story particularly unsettling.
At the center of the case are former family vlogger Ruby Franke and a licensed therapist who became deeply embedded in her household. Their relationship reshaped the family’s internal logic—changing how obedience, emotion, and punishment were understood.
Who Is Jodi Hildebrandt?
Jodi Hildebrandt entered the Franke family’s life in 2019 through a church-related introduction.
She presented herself as a professional counselor offering clarity during emotional and relational conflict. Her ConneXions program emphasized principles such as accountability, honesty, and personal responsibility.
At first, this framework appeared structured rather than extreme. The language was calm, rational, and rooted in therapeutic authority. Over time, however, emotional expression began to be reframed as deception, while resistance was labeled as moral failure.
This shift is critical. Once emotions are treated as evidence of wrongdoing, punishment can be justified as correction rather than cruelty.
When Counseling Turned Into Absolute Authority
As Hildebrandt’s influence deepened, family conflict stopped being something to resolve and became something to diagnose.
Disagreement was no longer a difference of perspective—it was framed as distortion.
By 2022, Ruby’s husband Kevin was identified as the primary source of dysfunction. At Hildebrandt’s urging, the couple separated, and Kevin was removed from daily family life.
With one parent isolated, decision-making power consolidated. The household became a closed system in which one moral framework dominated and alternative viewpoints were dismissed as harmful.
Influencer Parenting and the Franke Family Breakdown
Ruby Franke originally gained popularity through 8 Passengers, a YouTube channel documenting life with her six children. The content emphasized discipline, faith, and structure—qualities many viewers interpreted as responsible parenting.
Around 2020, however, the tone shifted. Viewers began expressing concern over punishments involving isolation, food restriction, and emotional suppression. What some initially viewed as strict parenting began to feel excessive and punitive.
Eventually, Ruby stopped posting on the channel and re-emerged alongside her counselor under a new platform focused on moral absolutism. Personal judgment gave way to ideological enforcement, and parenting became a vehicle for proving moral alignment rather than ensuring child well-being.
How Ideological Discipline Escalated Into Abuse
In 2023, Ruby relocated with her four youngest children to her counselor’s residence in Utah.
This move completed both physical and social isolation.
Within this environment, discipline escalated into actions later confirmed as abuse: forced labor, deprivation of food and water, prolonged exposure to heat, and outdoor confinement. Investigators noted how these actions were consistently justified through moral language—described as purification, correction, or accountability.
Language did not merely explain the abuse. It enabled it.
Where Is Jodi Hildebrandt Now?
The case became public in August 2023 when a 12-year-old child escaped the home and sought help from a neighbor. Law enforcement immediately identified signs of severe abuse.
Both adults were charged with aggravated child abuse and are currently serving lengthy prison sentences. The children now live under their father’s care, while the eldest daughter has chosen to document her experience publicly.
Why Evil Influencer Matters
What gives this documentary its weight is not shock, but recognition.
The events unfolded in a context many viewers find familiar: parenting advice, therapeutic language, and online influence.
The documentary ultimately asks viewers to confront uncomfortable questions about trust, authority, and visibility—especially when private family life becomes public content.
This is not a fictional cautionary tale.
It is a documented account of how belief systems, when left unchecked, can override empathy and normalize harm.
🔗 Official Film & Case Resources
IMDb — Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025) | Documentary Details
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39049795/?ref_=mv_close
Netflix — Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story
https://www.netflix.com/
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