David Dobrik and The Vlog Squad Accused of Sexual Assault, Rape, and Racism

Whether you are familiar with David Dobrik's content, I am certain you are aware of this 20-something internet mogul. Labeled by The New York Times as "Gen-z's Jimmy Fallon", David is also known for surprising fans and members of the "vlog squad" with cars. Outside of this, a lot of people don't know much else about David Dobrik, the Vlog Squad, or what is coming to light upon recent reports in the news. The purpose of this article is for all of us to take a closer look into what we are allowing creators to get away with for online recognition.

The Business Insider Article + Accusations

It all started with a Business Insider article by Kat Tenbarge discussing recent allegations against a member of David Dobrik's vlog squad. The article reports that a woman, given the name Hannah for safe-keeping, featured on David Dobrik's vlog channel says she was raped by a vlog squad member in 2018. As of March 22nd, 2021, no criminal charges have been made against David Dobrik or any members of the vlog squad.

The Vlog Where it Happened

The now-deleted 4-minute-and-20-second long vlog is a video bit showcasing Dominykas Zeglaitis aka "Durte Dom" having a fivesome. In order to achieve this, members of the vlog squad DMed their followers on Instagram to see if anyone would be interested. Dom got a response from a group of girls who were in, but they mostly just wanted to meet David Dobrik and other YouTubers at Dom's apartment.

David Dobrik, the person who calls shots for his vlogs, asks his friends to go buy the girls alcohol to loosen them up. They were under drinking age at the time and alcohol was used to lure them into Dom's bedroom for the bit. In the video, there is a voiceover of David saying they were only able to convince two girls into the room to film the bit. This is when Hannah said she was raped by Dom. Hannah was too intoxicated to give her consent.

Hannah claims she was outstandingly drunk and her friends had to carry her out of the apartment as she could not walk herself. There is a picture proving this that we will get to later. It took her a month to recollect the traumatizing night. The video stayed on his YouTube channel removed for a long time, and even racked up 5 million views before deletion.

"He didn't have sex with them unless we saw it with our own eyes." - David Dobrik in response to Dom having a threesome the night it all happened on a podcast interview.

David Dobrik and the Vlog Squad Involved

David Dobrik was a Vine star from Chicago who became a YouTuber and gained millions of subscribers. He made hundreds of vlogs containing comedic content with his friend group called The Vlog Squad, giving them a huge platform to hang out and make money.

Here are members of the vlog squad then that appeared in the 2018 video and how they assisted the acts in the vlog:

Todd Smith: Appeared in the vlog, as well as a photo time-stamped at 1 a.m. that night. May have left to purchase alcohol to "loosen up" the underage girls.

Jeff Wittek: Appeared in the vlog, as well as a photo time-stamped at 1 a.m. that night. May have supplied alcohol to the underage girls. Released a video in response to the Business Insider article of his perspective and thoughts on the article (Jeff did not read the article as he did not want to purchase it.)

Dominykas Zeglaitis aka "Durte Dom": Admits to having sexual relations with Hannah the night of filming, who said he raped her when she was unconsciously drunk.

Trisha Paytas: Appeared in the video but left before alcohol was purchased for the apartment and the sexual acts happened. Was dating Jason Nash at the time.

Jason Nash: Huge vlog partner and podcast co-host with David. Appeared in the video, but left before anything happened thanks to Trisha.

Brandon Calvillo: Appeared at the very end of the video saying they were "going to jail" as David Dobrik laughs as a reaction.

Vlog Squad and Media Response to Business Insider Article

The Business Insider article was published on March 16th, 2021. Members of the vlog squad knew this article was coming, as the reporter reached out to them for comments. David Dobrik released a video titled "Let's Talk" on the same day — while proceeding to turn off the comment, like, and dislike features — on his second channel. David decided to publish this "apology" video on his podcast channel and not his vlog channel, which limits the outreach of the apology attempt.

Jeff Wittek posted a video on his YouTube channel titled "MY TRUTH" on March 21st, 2021 in response to the article. His main take was to attack the journalist for exploiting his name in the accusations because as it ruined brand partnerships and future opportunities for himself and others. First of all, he didn't even read the article because he didn't want to pay for it, but still claims the journalist is ruining his life with this story. He even tweeted her name and sent his Twitter followers to harass her. He also blames Trisha for allegedly mentioning that Jess was the one who supplied the alcohol when it was the victim herself. He really dug himself a hole with that one.

Trisha Paytas has always been vocal about her traumatic experience as an ex-member of the vlog squad. She is a part of a podcast with her friend Ethan Klein, and they discussed her experience with David and the vlog squad along with the recent accusations. On the day of the article release, Ethan's h3h3 podcast live-streamed them reading the article and even interviewed the reporter afterward. Ethan has been aware of the vlog squad, what they do, and the trauma they have caused Trisha.

On the evening when Jeff released his video, Trisha and Ethan reviewed it themselves and later interviewed Jeff live on their Frenemies podcast. Jeff continued to dig himself a deeper hole as he admitted there was alcohol at the apartment, whether he was the one that bought it or not. Ethan and Trisha showed him an image that was time-stamped at the end of the night at 1:18 a.m. It is a picture of the group of girls, two of them holding up Hannah, David, Jonah (another vlog squad member), Jeff, and Todd. This Frenemies interview captured Jeff's story as it changed over time, showing that no one has the story straight.

This article is not the first time the vlog squad has been accused of misconduct. An ex-member of the vlog squad, Seth Fransois, accused David Dobrik of sexual assault when Seth agreed to kiss Corinna for a bit, but ended up kissing Jason Nash instead. Seth did not consent to kiss Jason for laughs and views. He no longer agreed with other previous racist bits after the realization of this trauma.

Other previous members have experienced similar mishaps as a part of the squad. Big Nick has talked to Ethan Klein about his disability being the pit of every bit. Trisha was unknowingly filmed while having sex with Jason Nash, and David included that footage in the vlog even though Trisha told him not to. Jonah, whose real name is Nick Antonyan, is always the pit of the fat jokes. Corrina Kopf is filmed while Durte Dom reaches his hand up her skirt. Traumatization and misconduct are traded for clout, laughs, and likes in David's vlogs.

David Dobrik: The King of Misconduct

The first thing I want to note is that David Dobrik doesn't drink, but he films everyone else while they are intoxicated and doing what he says. There is a huge power imbalance between him and the vlog squad, some members even have known him since high school.

As time passes, the vlog squad is starting to resemble a cult in my opinion. Once David got popular, he had the opportunity to create an environment where crude humor and exploitation of others is okay because so far nothing has happened. David created this world of opportunities for him and his friends to provide for themselves while David himself profits the most because it is his platform overall. His friends make it clear that they feel as if they owe David for the life they live now as they don't hold him, Dom, or other accomplices, accountable. Beliving any accusations or owning up to what they did could lead vlog squad members to lose their jobs.

The Future of David Dobrik and The Vlog Squad

Recent allegations lead fans and brands to question David's previous work and the type of content he uploads. According to The New York Times, David Dobrik is losing brand deals and followers. Companies like HelloFresh and Dollar Shave Club, who were once huge sponsors of David, ended their partnerships due to the resurfacing of questionable vlog content. Jeff Wittek mentioned in his most recent video that he lost long-lasting partnerships because of this.

I predict that videos of ex-vlog members will continue to surface. More and more victims will come out with stories and accusations. But what is going to actually happen? Will David lose his platform, one of the biggest on YouTube? Will Hannah officially press charges against Dom, Todd, and David? Will this sort of culture last forever?

We've seen this kind of content for years and nothing has ever been done about it. This sort of culture that people like David Dobrik have created normalizes horrific and traumatic acts in a problematic way. No one is holding themselves or their friends' actions accountable.

At the end of the day, if you have to negotiate someone into having sex, it is not consent.

SOURCES

https://www.thewrap.com/members-of-david-dobriks-vlog-squad-accused-of-sexual-assault/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/style/david-dobrik-youtube-explained.html?fbclid=IwAR2mLhX3P53oRjqPygG40CNgVzv3gFggyDuWf5NEtfDlrjN1bJMWPOG_1O0

insider.com/vlog-squad-durte-dom-rape-allegation-david-dobrik-zeglaitis-video-2021-3