YouTuber David Dobrik issues statement on sexual misconduct allegations

David Dobrik has finally responded to sexual assault allegations surrounding him and members of the Vlog Squad – his filming group.

In the statement, Dobrik insisted that “consent is super, super important to him,” as he confirmed he had removed videos that he no longer “agrees with”.

His recorded address, titled ‘Let’s Talk’, was posted to his newest YouTube channel Views which, at 1.67 million subscribers, has significantly lower audience figures than his other channels.

His main channel, David Dobrik, has 18.9 million subscribers – prompting some social media users to ask whether maybe he didn’t want them all to see such an uncomfortable clip.

Last month, Seth Francois – a former member of the Vlog Squad – accused Dobrik and fellow squad member Jason Nash of sexual assault. The complaints referred to two videos in which Nash kissed Francois without his consent.

More recently, an anonymous source told Insider that squad member Dominykas Zeglaits – known to fans as Durte Dom – sexually assaulted her in 2018 when she was underage.

She claims that, on the night in question, members of the Vlog Squad pressured her into binge drinking. Meanwhile, Dobrik filmed her and made a “threesome plot” for his vlog – which a since been removed – the alleged victim said.

Addressing the first accusation, Dobrik told his ‘Let’s talk’ audience: “With the Seth situation, I’m sorry to Seth because I just want to make videos where everybody in it, whether you’re participating or watching, is enjoying and having a good time. I missed the mark on that one.”

When addressing the allegation levelled at Durte Dom, he said: “With people in my life that I don’t film with anymore, like Dom, I chose to distance myself because 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.”

He went on to say that he had deleted certain videos because “these don’t represent me anymore and they are hurtful to other people.”

Twitter users have been quick to criticise the YouTube star, accusing him of hypocrisy for disabling comments on a video which purports to encourage “talking”.

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