David Dobrik is a well-known YouTuber and a better-known Viner. He gained most of his popularity by making Vines, a short-form video-sharing app. But when Vines decided to shut, David, as every other viner moved on to YouTube. However, his popularity didn’t alter as he garnered over 18 million subscribers and got the title “Gen Z’s Jimmy Fallon”. And he also formed the Vlog Squad with his friends.
However, David Dobrik is in hot waters lately, mainly due to the surfacing of recent allegations. The YouTuber is facing backlash over his 2017 video as well as a few other accusations. And the allegations come from his circle, the Vlog Squad.
The Allegations David Dobrik is Facing.
David Dobrik gained massive popularity for his entertaining videos with the Vlog Squad. Together, they made funny videos, and pranks around Los Angeles, California. He even switched to Tiktok and podcasting in recent times.
But recently, claims of David Dobrik’s exploitation and misconduct against the Vlog Squad members surfaced. The allegation mainly involves the former Vlog Squad member Joseth “Seth” Francois.
In 2017, David Dobrik uploaded a prank video on his channel titled “HE THOUGHT HE WAS KISSING HER!! (SUPER CRINGEY)”. The video shows Dobrik tricking Seth into kissing Jason Nash, a fellow YouTuber while telling him he’s kissing a woman. Now, four years and 10 million views later, Seth is speaking out about how the video affected him.
Francois claims that whatever David Dobrik made him do was wrong and it was sexual assault.
In an interview, Joseth said that until covid, he didn’t realize how much the situation affected him. “I remember sitting in my room and thinking to myself, that video was wrong, that shouldn’t have happened to me.”
Another allegation comes from a woman who claims that one of the Vlog Squad members, Dom Zeglatis, raped her in 2018. The woman claims that she was incapacitated by alcohol and had texts, pictures, and videos from the day to verify her claim.
Finally, another Vlog Squad member, Nick Keswani has also accused David Dobrik of mistreatment. Keswani is blind in his left eye and suffers from a rare form of dwarfism. And due to his condition, he was constantly mocked in many videos. In a podcast he appeared last month, he revealed that he felt worthless being in the videos.
Companies Cut Ties.
After the allegations against David Dobrik surfaced, several companies have addressed the issue. And most of them have even cut ties with him and the Vlog Squad.
Companies like EA Sports, DoorDash, and Dollar Shave Club, have all disassociated themselves from the YouTuber. HBO Max and General Mills announced that they have no campaigns with the team. Investors and sponsors like Spark Capital and SeatGeek are also cutting ties with Dobrik and Vlog Squad with no plans in the future.
In the light of the recent accusations, David Dobrik has come out with a 2:31 minute video. In the video, he addresses the recent allegations and apologizes to the people involved. “Consent is something that’s super, super important to me,” says David in the video. He believes that he has grown as a content creator and a person due to the mistakes he’s made. And he no longer associates himself with several previous members of the squad due to the same reason.
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