who is Ruby Franke? Ruby Franke is a Mormon mother of six from Utah. She and her husband, Kevin Franke, ran a YouTube channel called 8 Passengers about life with their six children, who currently range in age from 10 to 20. At the peak of the channel’s popularity, the family had more than two million followers. 8 Passengers garnered controversy for showing the children in vulnerable moments and for what Franke called her strict parenting style. Those who spoke out against the channel said she was openly abusing her children. The channel was removed from YouTube this year. After the channel was removed, Franke began a new venture with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt called ConneXions Classroom. That channel focused on mental health and counseling. It was removed after Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested. Why was her content controversial? Franke’s parenting style was criticized by those who said it constituted abuse. Some incidents documented on 8 Passengers included teenage son Chad being made to sleep on a bean bag for months as punishment and refusing to bring her six-year-old daughter lunch at school because the daughter forgot to pack it. A number of clips circulating from 8 Passengers show Franke discussing withholding food or threatening to withhold food from her children as punishment.