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Teen Torture Inc.

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Some may remember Danielle Bregoli, better known as Bhad Bhabie, from the infamous appearance she made on Dr. Phil at just 13 years old. While many may recall the viral catchphrase that stemmed from that episode — “Cash me outside, how ‘bout that” — it may come as a surprise to some that the tween was subsequently sent to a traumatizing institution for “troubled teens” called Turn-About Ranch.

The internet personality and rapper is one of hundreds of survivors who have come forward about the nightmare they experienced in government-sanctioned institutions like Tun-About. And the new documentary series from Max, Teen Torture Inc., tries to get to the bottom of the accusations with firsthand accounts from survivors and whistleblowers set to take the industry down.

Per the show’s logline, “For six decades and counting, this billion-dollar business has used what it calls ‘tough love’ as a form of treatment despite numerous deaths, countless suicides, life-altering injuries, and instances of child sexual abuse. Until recently, nobody has been able to stop it.”

But, does Bhad Bhabie appear in the Teen Torture Inc. doc? Here’s what we know.

Is Bhad Bhabie in Teen Torture Inc.?

Yes, Bhad Bhabie, who is now 21, claims to have had a harrowing experience at the Turn-About Ranch in Utah when she was 13 years old, where she says she was subjected to isolation and forced labor. She reveals in the documentary series that she was also put on suicide watch while staying there.

“If you want to get your kid help, you need to find a better way to do it,” she warns in the doc. “This … is only going to make your kid worse. They will come back with depression, they will come back with anxiety, and I have to live like this for the rest of my fucking life.”

Bhad Bhabie on 'Dr. Phil' and in 'Teen Torture Inc.' — Photo: CBS/Max

Bhad Bhabie also reflected on her viral Dr. Phil appearance that landed her in the “troubled teen” institution. “I don’t think it registered to me that we were actually going on a TV show,” she says in the docuseries. “I was 13.”

She adds that she felt “so scared” when she was being taken to Turn-About Ranch, an institution that Dr. Phil McGraw recommended multiple times on the show.

“The whole time I’m looking at [Dr. Phil], like, this isn’t therapy,” she recalls at one point.

Prior to participating in the Max series, Bhad Bhabie previously called out Dr. Phil, claiming he was fully aware of how she was being treated in the “abusive” treatment center.

“My mother signed a consent of release of information to send progress reports directly from Turn-About to the ‘Dr. Phil’ show. So when you say you don’t have any fucking feedback from them, that is not true!” she said in a YouTube video released in 2021.

She added, “I go on your show to get help and you make my life worse? I’ve gotten through those years with no fucking help from you, all you’ve done is add more trauma to my life.”

What is Teen Torture Inc. about?

The new documentary series features first-hand accounts from survivors who were sent to facilities such as Turn About Ranch and Provo Canyon School to receive so-called “treatment.” Some of the victims’ accounts include accusations of being waterboarded, stripped down, restrained, and thrown into solitary confinement.