Brands are cutting ties with YouTube star David Dobrik following misconduct allegations.
On March 16, Business Insider published an interview with a woman—who spoke out on the condition of anonymity—that alleged she met several Vlog Squad members, including David and Dominykas Zeglaitis, in November 2018 when she was 20 years old.
In the interview, the woman claimed David filmed her and Dominykas entering a bedroom, where she and Dominykas had a sexual encounter. However, she explained she was too intoxicated to give consent.
According to Business Insider, a YouTube video, titled, "SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE!!," was uploaded days after the alleged incident occurred. At the woman's request, the video was later deleted.
At this time, Dominykas is no longer associated with the Vlog Squad. E! News reached out to him for comment on March 16 and we have yet to receive a response.
Before the social media star publicly spoke out about the accusations the same day Business Insider's article was published, his attorney told E! News, "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."
However, following Business Insider's story, several brands announced they would no longer work with the YouTuber.
On Friday, March 19, a spokesperson from DoorDash told E! News, "DoorDash profoundly condemns the behavior of the Vlog Squad members, and we have terminated our sponsorship of David Dobrik's podcast 'Views'. This horrific misconduct is incongruous with DoorDash's values and does not represent the communities we strive to create. Our thoughts are with all those impacted."
Additionally, a spokesperson for HelloFresh shared a statement with E! News on Saturday, March 20. "We can confirm that we are no longer working with David Dobrik or any member of the Vlog Squad," read the message, "and do not have any plans to work with them again in the future."
"We are aware of the allegations against David Dobrik. We haven't worked with David since April 2020 and can confirm we are not currently working with him nor do we have any plans to in future," an EA Sports spokesperson said in a statement to E! News on March 20. "We expect any influencer or celebrity talent we work with to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with EA's values and policies."
Moreover, Dollar Shave Club told The New York Times they were ending their partnerships with David. "We've made the decision to end our relationship and cancel all planned activity," a representative for Dollar Shave Club told the publication.
SeatGeek, the ticketing company that advertises with David, told Business Insider it was "reviewing" its partnership with the YouTuber.
E! News reached out to the Dollar Shave Club and SeatGeek on Saturday, March 20 for comment and has yet to receive a response.
On March 16, David, 24, acknowledged his "mistakes" and apologized for the content he's posted in the past in a video titled "Let's Talk."
"I wanted to come on here real quick and address some conversations that are going on on the Internet," he said in his two-minute video, adding that "consent is something that's super, super important to me."
He went on to explain that he "always" gets approval from people appearing in his videos, and noted he "will take the video down" if someone decides they no longer want to be part of it.
"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 shared. "And I don't agree with some of the videos I've posted."
In the video, David addressed Dominykas, saying, "With people in my life that I don't film with anymore, like Dom and the other people I no longer film with, 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."
He added, "I've been really disappointed by some of my friends, and for that reason, I've separated from a lot of them."
At this time, Dominykas has yet to publicly comment on the accusations made against him.