This week, David Dobrik—a YouTube star who’s also served as the host of Dodgeball Thunderdome and other TV projects—released his second apology video amid growing criticism over sexual assault and misconduct allegations involving the Vlog Squad.
The seven-minute video, released Tuesday, notably arrived after a number of brands confirmed they were cutting ties with Dobrik in connection with those allegations. And while the controversies surrounding the 24-year-old Angry Birds Movie 2 voice actor have hit a new peak in recent weeks, the allegations and related issues actually date back several years.
Below, we take a closer look, starting with a catch-up on some moments from the Vlog Squad’s past that have since resurfaced.
All the way back in 2017, a video—which has since been removed—was released on YouTube in which Dobrik is seen tricking ex-Vlog Squad team member Seth Francois into kissing comedian Jason Nash. Last summer, Francois shared a video in which he detailed racism and bullying at the hands of Dobrik and other Vlog Squad members.
A video from 2018, meanwhile, was viewed millions of times before being removed at the request of one of the women featured in it. The video, titled “SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE!!” was said to have been edited to depict a group sex plot.
And over on TikTok in September of last year, a man named Karim shared a multi-part video series in which he was seen vying for a gig at Dobrik’s new startup Dispo. The series became popular and notably saw Karim offering up ideas, including the name Dispo, prompting a controversy in which Dobrik was accused of ripping off the TikTok user. Dobrik later disputed that, saying that he and his team registered the Dispo name in June of that year.
The criticisms against Dobrik have received renewed attention this year, due in large part to the publication of an Insider interview with a woman featured on Dobrik’s channel, who said she was raped by ex-Vlog Squad member Dominykas Zeglaitis, better known as Durte Dom.
The allegations centered around the shoot for the aforementioned “SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE!!” video, which was removed after already topping five million views, but only at the request of the woman named in the report using the pseudonym of Hannah. At the time of the alleged 2018 incident, Hannah was a 20-year-old student at a private liberal arts school in the Los Angeles area.
Hannah accused Zeglaitis of rape by, as explained in Kat Tenbarge’s report, “engaging in sexual activity with her that night while she was so incapacitated by alcohol that she could not consent.” She also alleged that alcohol was supplied by Vlog Squad members to her and her friends, all of whom were reported to be under the age of 21 at the time.
In the Insider feature, Zeglaitis was said to have declined to comment on the allegations. Vlog Squad member Jeff Wittek later tweeted out a statement in which he said “I absolutely do not condone” what he described as the “disgusting actions” of his then-fellow Vlog Squad member. Wittek also denied being involved in allegedly supplying alcohol.
The controversy surrounding the 2017 video involving Francois has also received renewed attention, with Francois recounting the incident in an interview on an H3H3 podcast in February of this year.
And as for Dispo, which launched in early March, some have remained critical of the Karim situation while also using the app’s review platform to push Dobrik to more strongly condemn the behavior alleged in the accusations.
On March 16, Dobrik shared a video titled “Let’s Talk” to his VIEWS podcast page.
In it, Dobrik spoke on consent and explained what he says is his personal policy when it comes to removing videos.
“Consent is something that’s super, super important to me,” Dobrik said. “Whether I’m shooting with a friend or shooting with a stranger, I always make sure that whatever video I’m putting out, I have the approval from that person. And I also acknowlege those times where a person can change their mind and they no longer want to be associated [or] they no longer want to be in the video that I’m putting up and I’ll take the video down. There’s also been moments where I’ve looked back on videos and I’ve realized these don’t represent me anymore and they’re hurtful to other people and I don’t want them up because I’ve grown as a content creator and as a person and I don’t agree with some of the videos that I’ve posted.”
Dobrik also apologized to Francois.
“I missed the mark with that one and I’m really sorry,” he said. “I truly, truly am.”
As for others who were once in his circle, including Durte Dom, Dobrik said he previously “chose to distance” himself from certain people.
Others who have recently spoken out against Dobrik include Nik Keswani, another ex-Vlog Squad member known to many fans as “BigNik.” According to Keswani, his Vlog Squad years were marked by repeated instances of being bullied over his disabilities that have taken a toll on his mental health.
Also in February, Trisha Paytas—who was previously in a relationship with Nash and is also a former Vlog Squad member—alleged during a Frenemies episode that Dobrik had filmed her nude without consent. And in a Vulture piece in March, Paytas said she had PTSD from her years spent working with Dobrik and Nash.
On March 23, Dobrik released a second apology video, this one more in depth and notably shared to his main channel.
“I’ve never done this correctly and I’ve never done this respectfully,” Dobrik said near the top of the video, during which he said he “fully believes” the woman interviewed in the aforementioned Insider piece who alleged she was raped by Durte Dom during a video shoot.
“I wanna apologize to her and her friends for ever putting them in an environment that I enabled that made them feel like their safety and values were compromised,” he said. “I’m so sorry. I was completely disconnected from the fact that when people were invited to film videos with us—especially videos that rely on shocks for views or whatever it was—that I was creating an unfair power dynamic. I did not know this before.”
Dobrik added that he should have made sure that everyone involved “was taken care of and wasn’t uncomfortable.”
Moving forward, Dobrik said he’s going to take a “short break” from social media and wants to put in place better options for people to voice these kinds of concerns in the future.
“I think it is important to show that change is possible … Maybe even forgiveness is possible,” he said.
Amid the ongoing controversy, Dobrik has stepped down from the board of Dispo. A number of brands and businesses have also cut ties with Dobrik in connection with the Vlog Squad allegations.
A rep for EA Sports told Insider in March that they haven’t worked with Dobrik since April of last year and currently have no plans to do so in the future.
“We expect any influencer or celebrity talent we work with to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with EA’s values and policies,” a rep said.
DoorDash, meanwhile, has terminated their sponsorship of Dobrik’s VIEWS podcast. Others who have made similar statements in recent weeks —ranging from ended partnerships to reviews of those partnerships—include HelloFresh, Dollar Shave Club, SeatGeek, HBO Max, Audible, Facebook, and more.
