Shari and Ruby Franke Courtesy of Ruby Franke/Instagram
Lifetime is making a made-for-TV movie about Ruby Franke after she was convicted of child abuse, though it is allegedly unauthorized.
“A note about the Lifetime movie coming out about my family: I saw the trailer suddenly in class and had an anxiety attack,” the 42-year-old’s eldest daughter, Shari, wrote via Instagram Story on Friday, October 4. “None of us were contacted about the movie.”
Lifetime dropped a trailer for Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story earlier this week, starring Emilie Ullerup as Franke and Heather Locklear as Jodi Hildebrandt. Per the footage, Ullerup, 39, plays a conservative mom influencer whose beliefs turn extreme after connecting with Locklear’s character. Just like Franke claimed in real life, the Lifetime persona even barred her kids from eating if they forgot to make lunch on their own.
“This movie is trash and only hurts my siblings more,” Shari, 21, continued, claiming, “None of the proceeds are going to the kids.”
Ruby Franke, who used to chronicle her large brood’s daily adventures on their “8 Passengers” YouTube channel, has been arrested. The YouTube personality, 41, was booked on Wednesday, August 30, in Springville, Utah, on two counts of aggravated child abuse. According to the Washington County Sheriff Department website, she is currently in police custody. Franke […]
She concluded, “Please do not support this movie.”
Lifetime has not publicly responded to Shari’s accusations. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.
Franke rose to fame sharing her extremist parenting choices on her now-defunct “8 Passengers” YouTube channel. She later cofounded ConneXions Classroom with Hildebrandt, 55, which social media critics have likened to a cult. Franke previously made headlines for her controversial beliefs, including the proclamation that children didn’t deserve unconditional love.
Ruby and her now-estranged husband, Kevin Franke, share six children: Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve.
Ruby and Hildebrandt were each arrested in August 2023 on two counts of aggravated child abuse and held without bail. According to authorities at the time, one of Ruby’s sons was allegedly malnourished and escaped out of a window to ask a neighbor for food and water. The arrest report noted that the child had duct tape around his ankles and wrists.
Shari Franke Courtesy of Shari Franke/Instagram
Ruby and Hildebrandt both pleaded guilty to the charges and were each sentenced in February to four consecutive prison terms.
“My charges are just. They offer safety to my family, accountability to the public,” Ruby said during her sentencing, taking accountability for “inflicting the injuries” on her children.
Ruby further claimed she had been “led to believe” that the world was an “evil place.”
Shari, as well as Ruby’s sisters, have condemned the disgraced YouTuber star’s actions.
“For the last three years, we have kept quiet on the subject of our sister Ruby Franke for the sake of her children. Behind the public scene, we have done everything we could to try and make sure the kids were safe,” Ellie Mecham, Julie Griffiths Deru and Bonnie Hoellein wrote in a joint Instagram statement in August 2023. “Ruby was arrested which needed to happen. Jodi was arrested which needed to happen. The kids are now safe, which is the No. 1 priority.”
To report child abuse, consult the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Welfare Information Gateway for state-specific reporting phone numbers.
Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story premieres on Lifetime Saturday, October 26, at 8 p.m. ET.
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