David Dobrik Dropped
David Dobrik has been dropped by high-value sponsors due to the recent allegations against members of the Vlog squad and himself.
The formerly beloved YouTuber has recently been in hot water for a series of prank videos which have gained criticism for the treatment of those involved. In 2018 a vlog style video in which the group spoke about the topic of group sex showed footage of the group inviting two female fans to a hotel and buying them alcohol whilst they were underage. The legal age for the consumption of alcohol in America being 21. The video then shows one of the fans entering a bedroom with vlog squad member Dom Zeglaitis (Durtie Dom), it is later clarified by Dom in the video that they did have sex. Due to the intoxication, the female fan alleged she could not give meaningful consent and felt that this was rape.
Many people have spoken out in support of this female fan and shared their own experiences of sexual assault. There has also been anger directed towards David Dobrik for allowing this to take place and for allegedly not removing the video when asked by the victim some months after the incident. The apology video that followed was slammed by fans due to the short nature of the video and apology being uploaded to a secondary channel, leading fans to believe Dobrik was attempting to hide the situation from fans of the main channel.
As of the 1st of April David Dobrik main channel has lost approximately 400k subscribers in the last 30 days and this number continues to fall as more YouTubers and those associated with David Dobrik have given evidence to suggest that his behaviour during these vlogs was less than palatable.
As a result of the enormous backlash, Dobrik has received online a number of high profile sponsor have pulled their sponsorships and issued apologies for working with the channel. Some notable sponsors include HelloFresh, SeatGeek, EA Sports, Audible, and Facebook.
HelloFresh confirmed with the New York Times that they would be ended their sponsorships with David Dobrik and released the statement “We can confirm that we are no longer working with David Dobrik and do not have any plans to work with them again in the future.”
This has also lead Dobrik to step down from the board of photo-sharing social media app ‘Dispo’ which he co-founded in 2019. This news comes after the company faces losses of up to $20 million as major investors pull their investment from the startup. In a series of tweets, @DispoHQ has issued their statement regarding the situation, “Dispo unequivocally condemns any form of assault or violence and believes survivors must always be heard and supported. In order to remain true to our mission, we support David’s decision to part ways with the company.” They then follow this by wishing the best for the growth of the Dispo community.
Though this seems like the smart move to allow the best chance for the growth of the business all eyes will be on Dispo’s next move as they branch away from Dobriks star status.
