David Dobrik parted ways with Dispo, the disposable camera app co-founded by YouTuber in 2019, after allegations of sexual assault against a former member of his Vlog Squad, The information reports.
“David chose to leave the board and leave the company so as not to be distracted by the company’s growth,” said Dispo in a statement, “The team, the Dispo product and most importantly – our community – advocate building an environment diverse and inclusive. and empowering the world. “
Dobrik’s decision to leave Dispo follows a report from Insider where one of the women on a 2018 vlog said that a former member of Dobrik’s Vlog Squad engaged in sexual activities with her while she was too drunk to consent. She was 20 at the time and said that Dobrik’s friends supplied her and her friends with alcohol, as they were too young to buy it. Dobrik posted the footage of the night of the incident in a video titled “SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE !!” which was subsequently withdrawn at the request of the woman involved. “We all go to jail,” Dobrik said at the end of the video.
On the same day that Dobrik left Dispo, venture capital firm Spark Capital announced that it was cutting ties with the company after leading its recent $ 20 million round of financing. “In light of the recent news about Vlog Squad and Dispo co-founder David Dobrik, we made the decision to cut all ties with the company,” tweeted the company, “We have resigned our position on the board and we are in the process of taking steps to ensure that we do not profit from our recent investment in Dispo. “
Several sponsors have also severed ties or are reviewing their partnerships with Dobrik in light of the allegations. THE New York Times reports that sponsors, including HelloFresh and Dollar Shave Club, are no longer working with YouTuber or its team. Dobrik’s main YouTube channel lost more than 100,000 subscribers after the allegations went public, and Dispo’s App Store page was bombarded with negative reviews.
2 / We have abandoned 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.
– Spark Capital (@sparkcapital) March 22, 2021
While Dobrik declined to comment on Insider in his report, he later published a video entitled “Let’s talk” in which he discussed the controversy in general terms. “I don’t agree with some of the videos I posted,” he says in the video, adding that “there were times when I remembered the videos and realized that they no longer represent me, and hurt other people. ” Buzzfeed reported on separate allegations about YouTuber last month made by a former member of Vlog Squad, which he addressed in the same apology video.
“I was very disappointed with some of my friends and that’s why I separated from many of them,” said Dobrik. Insider notes that the Vlog Squad member accused of sexual assault stopped appearing in videos on Dobrik’s channel in late 2019. “Consent is super important to me,” said Dobrik. “I’m sorry if I let you down and things like that are not going to happen again and I learned from my mistakes.”
Dispo is an iOS application developed to mimic the process of using a disposable camera. The photos taken are only available at 9 am the next day and can be ordered as printed copies directly from the application.