Controversy

David Dobrik Dropped by Brands After Former Vlog Squad Member Dominykas Zeglaitis Is Accused of Sexual Assault: Controversy Timeline

March 23, 2021

David Dobrik Dropped by Brands Amid Vlog Squad Assault Allegations — Jean Paul/PAPIX/INSTARimages.com; YouTube

David Dobrik and the Vlog Squad are under fire for their past actions, including allegations of sexual misconduct stemming from a 2018 YouTube video.

The 24-year-old YouTuber, who has nearly 19 million subscribers on his main channel, made headlines earlier this month when a woman accused Dominykas Zeglaitis (better known as “Durte Dom”) of sexual assault. Zeglaitis was previously part of the Vlog Squad, Dobrik’s inner circle who films content for YouTube, TikTok and other social media platforms together.

In a since-deleted video titled “SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE!!” from 2018, Zeglaitis, who no longer films regularly with Dobrik, revealed several college girls responded to his Instagram request to have group sex. While Dobrik initially said in the video that it’s clear the “fivesome” wasn’t going to happen after spending time with the students, one of the women who met up with the group that night has since alleged that Zeglaitis raped her after she was supplied with alcohol by Dobrik’s group.

The woman, who has remained anonymous and was 20 years old at the time, shared her story to Insider reporter Kat Tenbarge, alleging that Zeglaitis had sex with her when she was too drunk to consent. (Zeglaitis, who 860,000 subscribers of his own, has yet to publicly react to the accusations. Insider reports that he declined to comment.)

“This is my third time investigating rape accusations, and the most difficult part often involves bringing those claims to the accused and dealing with pushback,” Tenbarge said. “This time, we didn’t get a response from the man who was accused of rape. But we did hear back from David Dobrik’s lawyers, and part of the reporting process was responding to the issues they took with our story.”

Dobrik’s lawyers released a statement to Insider that read: “David will be addressing his community directly. Anyone who knows him knows he does not condone misconduct in any form. Vlog participants provide consent before anything is posted. Whenever consent is retracted, posts are removed. Any insinuation of wrongdoing is inaccurate and defamatory.”

The David’s Perfume founder later addressed the controversy in a two-minute video uploaded to his and Jason Nash’s podcast Views‘ channel, which has a significantly lower number of subscribers compared to his main channel.

Listen to Us editors break down Khloe Kardashian’s Photoshop nightmare in under 3 minutes!

“There’s also been moments where I’ve looked back on videos, and I realize that 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,” he said on March 16, adding that “consent is something that’s super, super important” to him. “And I don’t agree with some of the videos I’ve posted.”

Dobrik has since been dropped by several brands as the fallout continues. Scroll through for a complete breakdown of the controversy:

Credit: Jean Paul/PAPIX/INSTARimages.com; YouTube

David Dobrik Dropped by Brands After Former Vlog Squad Member Dominykas Zeglaitis Is Accused of Sexual Assault: Controversy Timeline

David Dobrik and the Vlog Squad are under fire for their past actions, including allegations of sexual misconduct stemming from a 2018 YouTube video. The 24-year-old YouTuber, who has nearly 19 million subscribers on his main channel, made headlines earlier this month when a woman accused Dominykas Zeglaitis (better known as “Durte Dom”) of sexual assault. Zeglaitis was previously part of the Vlog Squad, Dobrik’s inner circle who films content for YouTube, TikTok and other social media platforms together. In a since-deleted video titled "SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE!!” from 2018, Zeglaitis, who no longer films regularly with Dobrik, revealed several college girls responded to his Instagram request to have group sex. While Dobrik initially said in the video that it’s clear the “fivesome” wasn't going to happen after spending time with the students, one of the women who met up with the group that night has since alleged that Zeglaitis raped her after she was supplied with alcohol by Dobrik’s group. The woman, who has remained anonymous and was 20 years old at the time, shared her story to Insider reporter Kat Tenbarge, alleging that Zeglaitis had sex with her when she was too drunk to consent. (Zeglaitis, who 860,000 subscribers of his own, has yet to publicly react to the accusations. Insider reports that he declined to comment.) “This is my third time investigating rape accusations, and the most difficult part often involves bringing those claims to the accused and dealing with pushback,” Tenbarge said. “This time, we didn't get a response from the man who was accused of rape. But we did hear back from David Dobrik's lawyers, and part of the reporting process was responding to the issues they took with our story.” Dobrik’s lawyers released a statement to Insider that read: “David will be addressing his community directly. Anyone who knows him knows he does not condone misconduct in any form. Vlog participants provide consent before anything is posted. Whenever consent is retracted, posts are removed. Any insinuation of wrongdoing is inaccurate and defamatory." The David’s Perfume founder later addressed the controversy in a two-minute video uploaded to his and Jason Nash’s podcast Views' channel, which has a significantly lower number of subscribers compared to his main channel. Listen to Us editors break down Khloe Kardashian's Photoshop nightmare in under 3 minutes! "There's also been moments where I've looked back on videos, and I realize that 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," he said on March 16, adding that “consent is something that's super, super important” to him. "And I don't agree with some of the videos I've posted." Dobrik has since been dropped by several brands as the fallout continues. Scroll through for a complete breakdown of the controversy:

Credit: Jean Paul/PAPIX/INSTARimages.com; YouTube

David Dobrik Dropped by Brands After Former Vlog Squad Member Dominykas Zeglaitis Is Accused of Sexual Assault: Controversy Timeline

David Dobrik and the Vlog Squad are under fire for their past actions, including allegations of sexual misconduct stemming from a 2018 YouTube video. The 24-year-old YouTuber, who has nearly 19 million subscribers on his main channel, made headlines earlier this month when a woman accused Dominykas Zeglaitis (better known as “Durte Dom”) of sexual assault. Zeglaitis was previously part of the Vlog Squad, Dobrik’s inner circle who films content for YouTube, TikTok and other social media platforms together. In a since-deleted video titled "SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE!!” from 2018, Zeglaitis, who no longer films regularly with Dobrik, revealed several college girls responded to his Instagram request to have group sex. While Dobrik initially said in the video that it’s clear the “fivesome” wasn't going to happen after spending time with the students, one of the women who met up with the group that night has since alleged that Zeglaitis raped her after she was supplied with alcohol by Dobrik’s group. The woman, who has remained anonymous and was 20 years old at the time, shared her story to Insider reporter Kat Tenbarge, alleging that Zeglaitis had sex with her when she was too drunk to consent. (Zeglaitis, who 860,000 subscribers of his own, has yet to publicly react to the accusations. Insider reports that he declined to comment.) “This is my third time investigating rape accusations, and the most difficult part often involves bringing those claims to the accused and dealing with pushback,” Tenbarge said. “This time, we didn't get a response from the man who was accused of rape. But we did hear back from David Dobrik's lawyers, and part of the reporting process was responding to the issues they took with our story.” Dobrik’s lawyers released a statement to Insider that read: “David will be addressing his community directly. Anyone who knows him knows he does not condone misconduct in any form. Vlog participants provide consent before anything is posted. Whenever consent is retracted, posts are removed. Any insinuation of wrongdoing is inaccurate and defamatory." The David’s Perfume founder later addressed the controversy in a two-minute video uploaded to his and Jason Nash’s podcast Views' channel, which has a significantly lower number of subscribers compared to his main channel. Listen to Us editors break down Khloe Kardashian's Photoshop nightmare in under 3 minutes! "There's also been moments where I've looked back on videos, and I realize that 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," he said on March 16, adding that “consent is something that's super, super important” to him. "And I don't agree with some of the videos I've posted." Dobrik has since been dropped by several brands as the fallout continues. Scroll through for a complete breakdown of the controversy:

Credit: Frank Micelotta/Fox/PictureGroup/Shutterstock

The Video

The video was filmed and uploaded in November 2018. In addition to Dobrik and Zeglaitis, Vlog Squad members Nash (and then-girlfriend Trisha Paytas), Jeff Wittek, Todd Smith and Nick Antonyan were spotted at the get-together. In the vlog, several members of the group were shown listening by the door after Zeglaitis and two women went into the next room.

“Dom just had a threesome,” Dobrik, who has admitted to recreating jokes and bits for his videos in the past, said at the end of the video. “I think we’re all going to jail.”

Credit: YouTube

The Allegations Against Dom

The woman told Insider that one of her friends was in the room when Zeglaitis allegedly raped her. While she initially gave Dobrik permission to use footage from the evening in a text message to Zeglaitis, she asked for the video to be taken down after she learned more information from her friends about the situation. The video was viewed more than five million times before it was removed.

“There were definitely times she was drinking it of her own volition, but there were also times where he was clearly trying to get her to drink more,” one of the alleged witnesses told Insider.

The woman who accused Zeglaitis of rape added, “It seemed like I had a super-fun night with these famous vloggers basically, which is not what happened. I was exploited for content and stripped of autonomy and a voice.”

Credit: YouTube

David’s Response

"I wanted to come on here real quick and address some conversations that are going on on the internet,” Dobrik said in a video titled “Let’s Talk” on March 17. “I don't align with some of the actions, and I don't stand for any kind of misconduct. I’ve been really disappointed by some of my friends, and for that reason, I've separated from a lot of them."

He continued: ”I think with any video I make my main purpose is to make people happy and inspire people and I just never want anything to get in the way of that. I’m sorry if I've let you down and things like that won't happen again and I learn from my mistakes and I also believe that actions speak a lot louder than words. You can take my word for it that I'm going to change but I'll also show you and I'll prove to you that the mistakes I made before won't be happening again."

Credit: YouTube

Jeff Speaks Out

Wittek, who has filmed with Dobrik over the years and was present the night the since-deleted video was filmed, denied supplying alcohol to the victim or her friends in a March 21 video titled “My Truth.” Besides Dobrik, Witterk is the only current member of the Vlog Squad to address the situation.

Hours after his video, which has been viewed more than One million times in 24 hours, was released, Witterk joined Paytas on her “Frenemies” podcast. During the podcast interview, Ethan Klein and Paytas shared a photo from the report of Wittek, Dobrik and Smith standing across from the alleged victim, who was held up by her friend, at 1:38 a.m. — despite Wittek’s claims that they left Zeglaitis’ home earlier in the evening.

Credit: YouTube

The Allegations Made by Seth

In addition to the accusations surrounding Zeglaitis, Dobrik and Nash came under fire in February after former pal Joseth “Seth” Francois claimed he was tricked into kissing Nash in a 2017 vlog.

"With the Seth situation, I'm sorry to Seth because, like I said, I just want to make videos where everybody in it, whether you're participating or watching, is enjoying and having a good time," Dobrik said in his “Let’s Talk” video. "And I missed the mark with that one, and I'm really sorry. I truly, truly am."

Credit: gotpap/Bauergriffin.com/MEGA

David Losing Sponsorships

Dobrik has been dropped by Dollar Shave Club, EA Sports, Doordash and HelloFresh in recent days. One of the influencer’s biggest advertisers, SeatGeek, told Insider that the ticketing company was “reviewing” the partnership.

Dobrik has also stepped back from Dispo, an invite-only photo-sharing app created by the YouTuber which raised $20 million in funding last month.

"David has chosen to step down from the board and leave the company to not distract from the company's growth," Dispo said in a statement to The New York Times. ”Dispo's team, product, and most importantly — our community — stand for building a diverse, inclusive, and empowering world."

Credit: Courtesy of Natalie Mariduena/Instagram

Natalie Breaks Her Silence

Dobrik’s best friend and assistant Natalie Mariduena took to Instagram on March 22 to address the situation for the first time.

"I've spent a lot of time thinking about the recent allegations and because of the severity, it's taken me time to process. Like many of you, I'm upset and angry and do not condone the behavior detailed in the article or any sexual misconduct/abuse for that matter,” she wrote. "I want to make it clear that I acknowledge, hear and support those who came forward and I stand by the victims."

Credit: YouTube

Carly and Erin Weigh In

Vlog Squad members Carly Incontro and Erin Gilfoy released a video titled “Our Thoughts” on March 22, denying that Dobrik tried to stop them from speaking out.

“We’ve just been taking this time to really process this whole situation ourselves and decide how we were going to talk about it because it is a really sensitive thing,” Gilfoy said. “But it’s also a really disturbing thing and we want you guys to know where we stand in terms of these allegations.”

Incontro added, “We think it’s disgusting, what happened. None of that is OK and I just hope that her abuser gets to face the entire, full consequence of all of this and takes full accountability for what happened that night. We do not condone that at all.”

Credit: YouTube

David’s Second Apology

Dobrik released a second, longer apology on his main channel on March 23 amid backlash for his initial response.

"I have put myself in a lot of situations where I have needed to apologize for my past actions, and I have never done this correctly and never done this respectfully," he began. "My last video is a testament to that. I don't want to defend that video; I don't want to delete that video.”

Dobrik made it clear that he stands with the victim, admitting he "enabled” the situation and that made the girls in the 2018 vlog “feel their safety and values were compromised."

“As it was reported, the next day, I got consent to post the video. Even though I got the consent to post the video, I should have never posted it. What I understand now, and what I didn't understand before is that she sent that text because she felt like she had to, not because she wanted to and that's f—ked up, and I am sorry,” he said, apologizing for creating an "unfair power dynamic” through his content. “I didn't know what was going on in that room, and I should have been making sure everybody involved was taken care of and wasn't uncomfortable."

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