David Dobrik, a famous YouTuber known for his prank videos, was abandoned by several sponsors amid growing reaction after a woman accused a member of her popular rape group.
A woman claimed that former “Vlog Squad” member Dom Zeglaitis sexually assaulted her in 2018 while the group was filming a group sex video, according to an investigation first reported by Insider. The woman claimed that Dobrik filmed her when she entered Zeglaitis’ room, where she was involved in a trio.
She told the publication that she was too incapacitated by alcohol at night to give consent and described the experience as rape. NBC News did not speak to the accuser.
Zeglaitis and his representative did not respond to several requests for comment from NBC News. Zeglaitis did not publicly address the claim.
The downfall for Dobrik, who saw a meteoric rise to fame with his fast-paced comedy videos on YouTube, was swift.
HelloFresh, General Mills, DoorDash, SeatGeek and EA Sports confirmed to NBC News on Monday that they were no longer working with Dobrik.
A spokeswoman for DoorDash told NBC News in an email that the company “deeply condemns the behavior of Vlog Squad members and we have ended our sponsorship of David Dobrik’s ‘Views’ podcast.”
“This horrible misconduct is inconsistent with DoorDash’s values and does not represent the communities we strive to create. Our thinking is with all those impacted ”, said the spokeswoman.
EA Sports said the company hasn’t worked with Dobrik since April 2020 and has no plans to work with him in the future.
“We expect any influencers or talented celebrities we work with to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with EA’s values and policies,” said the company.
Other sponsors who ended their working relationship with Dobrik included Dollar Shave Club, Audible, Facebook and HBO Max, Insider reported. The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, Dobrik said in a statement to The Information that he would leave the board of Dispo, a photo app he co-founded, and leave the company to “not be distracted by the company’s growth”.
And on Monday, venture capital firm Spark Capital, which led a $ 20 million investment in Dispo, announced on Twitter they would “cut all ties” with the start-up.
“We have resigned our position on the board and are in the process of taking steps to ensure that we will not profit from our recent investment in Dispo,” the company said in a statement.
Seven Seven Six, another pioneering investor at Dispo, also issued a statement on Twittersaying that the allegations involving Dobrik are “extremely worrying” and “directly at odds with the fundamental values of Seven Seven Six.”
“We have been working closely with Dispo for the past week and we fully support their decision to part ways with David,” the company said on Monday. “We decided to donate all the profits from our investment in Dispo to an organization that works with survivors of sexual violence.”
Dobrik uploaded the 2018 video – titled “SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE !!” – a few days after the incident, according to Insider. When the woman asked Zeglaitis to remove the video, the video already had 5 million views, the publication said. The video was removed at her request.
The accuser has not reported the incident to the authorities and no charges have been made against Zeglaitis, the Insider reported.
NBC News was not able to independently corroborate the statements of the woman of the night. A Dobrik representative did not respond to several requests for comment from NBC News.
In a seven-minute video uploaded to his personal YouTube channel on Tuesday, Dobrik apologized and said he “broke his heart”, he has not spoken before with women who said they felt uncomfortable while filming the video in 2018.
“I want to start this video by saying that I totally believe in the woman who spoke out against Dom and said she was sexually abused and raped by him,” said Dobrik.
He said he had a responsibility to ensure that everyone who appeared in that video felt safe and that he created an environment that he “allowed and made them feel that their safety and values were compromised”.
Dobrik added that while he obtained the woman’s approval via text message to post the video in 2018, he “should never have posted”.
“What I understand now and I didn’t understand before is that she sent that message because she felt she should – not that she wanted to – and that sucks, and I’m sorry,” he said.
After the Insider story was published, Dobrik said in a video posted last week on his podcast’s YouTube channel that “consent is something that is super, super important to me, whether I’m photographing with a friend or a stranger” .
“I’m sorry if I let you down,” he said. “There were also times when I looked back at 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, and I don’t agree with some of the videos I posted. “
In last week’s video, Dobrik also addressed another allegation of sexual assault involving him and another former “Vlog Squad” member, Joseth François.
In February, François told Buzzfeed News that a trick Dobrik played on him in 2017 was sexual assault. In the video, François was led to believe that he was kissing a woman; in fact, he kissed current Vlog Squad member Jason Nash, who is a man.
“The purpose of the video is to sexually assault me,” said François. “That is the whole premise.”
A spokesman for François told NBC News in an email on Tuesday that François had not received a “direct call” or “personal apology” from Dobrik and Nash. Nash did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
“I’m sorry to Seth, because like I said, I just want to make videos where everyone, whether you’re participating or watching, are enjoying and having fun,” said Dobrik in the video last week. “And I missed the target with that one. And I’m really sorry. I really, really feel it. “
Since 2014, Dobrik has accumulated almost 19 million subscribers on his personal YouTube channel.
Dobrik said in his most recent apology video that he stopped filming with Zeglaitis in 2019.
He added that he would take a step back on social media to build a system of “checks and balances” where “people communicate discomfort in a way that is comfortable for them”.
“It doesn’t feel right to go back to posting as before, and it also doesn’t feel right to be dark because I love what I do, but I think it’s important to show that change is possible and that I’m learning that maybe even forgiveness is possible,” he said. Dobrik.
“I want to use this opportunity to move forward and acknowledge my mistakes,” he said. “This is my beginning to the end, and I’m sorry for everyone I hurt.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. The hotline, administered by the National Rape, Abuse and Incest Network (RAINN), can put you in touch with your local rape crisis center. You can also access RAINN’s online chat service at https://www.rainn.org/get-help.