YouTube "Vlog Squad" Accused of Sexual Assault, David Dobrik Gets Backlash for "Apology"
TW: rape
A woman is accusing Dom Zeglaitis, AKA Durte Dom from the Vlog Squad, of rape. She told me David Dobrik was present that night, filmed her, and used the footage for a “threesome” plot in his vlog.https://t.co/UaMQ0iDvwn
- Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) March 16, 2021
David Dobrik's "Vlog Squad," one of the most popular and beloved acts on YouTube, is currently under fire after a woman who appeared in a 2018 vlog on Dobrik's channel says she was [TW: Rape]too intoxicated to consent to sex with "Durte Dom" (real name Dominykas Zeglaitis). Dobrik filmed pieces of the encounter and posted it publicly to his channel. The full piece is unfortunately behind a paywall, but you can read a shorter, free version of it HERE, or click the cut for a rundown (I will be using spoiler cuts on any descriptions of assault):
• Hannah (name a pseudonym to protect her identity) was at the time a 20-year old college student from LA, and says the night began with members of the Vlog Squad giving her and her friends hard liquor. All were under the legal drinking age. Trisha Paytas, YouTube celebrity and former Vlog Squad collaborator, confirmed to Insider that she witnessed this happen (Paytas left the party shortly after, uncomfortable with the underage drinking).
• Hannah says the alcohol left her incapacitated, which didn't stop Zeglaitis from [TW: Rape]taking her to his bedroom and having sex with her, nor did it stop Dobrik from filming her entering the room and using the footage for a threesome "plot" on his channel.
• Hannah's memory of the night and exactly what happened is fuzzy, but she says she remembers Zeglaitis [TW: Rape]guided her into the bedroom and blocked the exit with his body when she told him she wanted to return to her friend group, ignoring her when she said she did not want to hook up with him. While she was initially able to return to the friend group, she learned that, later in the night, she was involved in a group sex session that she had no memory of.
• A friend of Hannah's says other members of the Vlog Squad went into the room to watch, confirmed by Dobrik in the video below from a podcast episode, where he states they needed to see the threesome with their own eyes to ensure it happened:
Hannah’s* friend who was there that night told Insider that the other men in the Vlog Squad went into the bedroom to watch the act. David also said he saw it with his own eyes on a podcast. pic.twitter.com/KAejgEu5cX
- Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) March 16, 2021
• The vlog was uploaded to Dobrik's channel with the name "SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE!!!" and was viewed upwards of 5 million times before it was deleted months later at Hannah's request. Below, Hannah shares screenshots of the text message she sent to Zeglaitis asking that the video be deleted:
[TW: Rape]
• In typical YouTuber fashion, Dobrik shared an "apology" video many have deemed insufficient, given its short length (only about 2 and a half minutes long), its refusal to address the substance of the accusations, the fact that he turned comments off, and that he posted it to a side channel with only 1.68 million subscribers rather than his main channel, which has nearly 20 million.
• Dobrik has since lost over 100k subscribers on his main channel in retaliation. As far as I can tell, Zeglaitis has yet to respond.
People in the comments have helpfully shared further links that elaborate on the situation and shed light on past offenses by Dobrik and the Vlog Squad as well. Thank you to scheisse and vintage_boom for the recs:
A timeline of the David Dobrik allegations and controversieshttps://t.co/IMa8vOeL6P
- Vulture (@vulture) March 18, 2021
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