David Dobrik has finally spoken out about the recent scandals surrounding himself and the Vlog Squad.
In a 2 minute and 30 second video titled “Let’s talk” posted to his podcast channel, VIEWS, David starts by saying he’s made over 600 videos over the years and he prides himself on making people happy with his content. VIEWS sits at 1.67 million subscribers at the time of publication. David’s main channel— where the problematic content was posted— sits at nearly 19 million subscribers.
“That being said, consent is something that is super, super important to me,” he says. “Whether I’m shooting with a friend or shooting with a stranger, I always make sure the video I’m putting out, I have the approval from that person.”
David goes on to say he acknowledges there might be instances when a person changes their mind about being in his content or associated with the Vlog Squad and in those cases, he will take the video down.
“With the Seth situation, I’m sorry to Seth because, like I said, I just want to make videos where every body in it— you know, whether you’re participating or watching— is enjoying and having a good time, and I missed the mark with that one and I’m really sorry, I truly, truly am.”
In February, David came under fire when former Vlog Squad member Seth Francois went on the H3 After Dark podcast and accused the three-time Kids’ Choice Awards winner of sexual assault after David allegedly forced him to kiss 47-year-old Jason Nash against his will for a video.
Seth explained how to make-out prank transpired, saying, “It was a video where David set up with, uh, with Jason Nash and Corinna [Kopf] and said that I was supposed to do a make-out scene with Corinna and he was going to have her in an old man mask and then switched her out with Jason Nash. After Jason pulled off his mask, I realised that I was just touched by someone I did not consent to.”
David also addressed allegations that former member Durte Dom raped a woman while filming for David’s vlog, saying he’s chosen to distance himself from him because “I don’t align with some of the actions and I don’t, I don’t stand for any kind of misconduct.”
He says he’s been really “disappointed” by some of his friends and for that reason he’s separated from a lot of them.
“I’m sorry if I’ve let you down and things like that won’t happen again,” he finishes. “I learn from my mistakes and I also believe that actions speak a lot louder than words and you know, you can take my word for it that I’m going to change but I’ll also show you and prove to you that the mistakes I made before won’t be happening again.”
Here’s hoping David keeps his promises.