David Dobrik, 24, is one of the most well-known YouTubers in Hollywood. He made his name on Vine, the short-form video app that created a generation of online stars. Then he switched to YouTube, where he and a group of friends known as Vlog Squad started sharing fast-paced comedy content, often involving acrobatics.
Since 2014, he has accumulated more than 18 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel.
But an investigation by Kat Tenbarge on Insider published this week, detailing allegations of sexual assault against a former member of the Vlog Squad, prompted many viewers to reassess Dobrik’s work and his fandom angrily. Now it is challenging the success of its growing empire.
On Friday, a spokesperson for HelloFresh, one of its sponsors, said: “We can confirm that we are no longer working with David Dobrik or any member of the Vlog Squad and we have no plans to work with them again in the future. “
“We made the decision to end our relationship and cancel all planned activities,” said a representative from the Dollar Shave Club. A spokesman for EA Sports, which once gave Dobrik a Lamborghini, said the company “can confirm that we are not working with him or have any plans in the future.”
On Thursday, SeatGeek, the ticketing company that is one of Dobrik’s biggest advertisers, told Insider that it was “reviewing” the company’s partnership.
In 2018, Mr. Dobrik posted a video on his YouTube channel called “SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE !!” He showed images of young women socializing with Mr. Dobrik and members of the Vlog Squad while the men joked about having sexual encounters with them. Later, one of the men, Dom Zeglaitis, says that he had sex with one of them.
This woman told Insider that she was incapacitated by alcohol during the night and described the experience as rape. His report was corroborated by at least one other woman who was present.
The woman confirmed her story for The New York Times and provided photos, texts and video of the night to corroborate her account.
“We are going to jail,” Mr. Dobrik said at the end of the video.
The woman reached out to Mr. Zeglaitis to ask that the video be removed; it was, after receiving more than five million views.
The accuser has not contacted the police and no charges have been filed.
Mr. Dobrik declined by way of a representative to comment. He released a video addressing the story on Tuesday.
“I wanted to come here very quickly and talk about some conversations that are happening on the internet,” said Dobrik in the video titled “Let’s talk”. It was posted on a secondary channel that has about a tenth of its main channel followers.
Mr. Dobrik said in the video that “consent is something very, very important to me”. He added that he seeks the approval of everyone who appears in his videos and will withdraw them if those who appear in them no longer want to be included.
“There were also times when I looked back on videos and realized that they no longer represent me and hurt other people, and I don’t want them because I grew up as a content creator and as a person,” he said. “And I don’t agree with some of the videos I posted.”
“I’m sorry if I let you down,” he said.
Last month, a former Vlog Squad member named Joseth “Seth” François said he was sexually abused in one of Dobrik’s videos. In it, he was led to kiss Jason Nash, another YouTuber; Mr. François believed that he was kissing a woman.
“The purpose of the video is to sexually assault me. That is the whole premise, ”said Mr. François to BuzzFeed.
Mr. Dobrik addressed this incident in his apology. “With Seth’s situation, I’m sorry for Seth, because like I said, I just want to make videos where everyone, whether you are participating or watching, is enjoying and having fun,” said Dobrik. . “And I missed the target with that one. And I’m really sorry. I really am. “
Dobrik’s career as an artist made him wealthy enough to buy a $ 9.5 million home in Los Angeles – complete with a Hawaiian Punch fountain.
At the beginning of last year, Dobrik was nicknamed “Jimmy Fallon of Generation Z” by The Wall Street Journal. Last April, he stopped making regular vlogs, which had become a challenge during the pandemic, and turned his focus to other projects, including the launch of his own photo-sharing application, called Dispo.
This app’s rating dropped to less than two stars at Apple’s app store this week. Apple briefly interrupted the ability to leave comments, while people filled the space to scold Dobrik in the form of ratings and comments.
Mr. Dobrik lost more than 100,000 subscribers on his main YouTube channel last week.
In Mr. Dobrik’s apology video, he also said that he “chose to distance himself” from some people previously featured in his content. “I do not advocate any kind of misconduct,” he said, “and I was very disappointed in some of my friends and for that reason, I separated from many of them.”