Amid fallout over misconduct allegations involving some of YouTube star David Dobrik's past videos, Alexis Ohanian has spoken out.
The Reddit co-founder and famous husband of Serena Williams issued a statement on Monday, March 22 regarding his Seven Seven Six fund's investment in the Dispo app, which Dobrik created. It was confirmed on Monday that Dobrik stepped down from Dispo's board and left the company "to not distract from the company's growth," a statement read. "Dispo's team, product, and most importantly- our community- stand for building a diverse, inclusive, and empowering world."
Meanwhile, in an Instagram Story post, Ohanian called the allegations against Dobrik "extremely troubling" and said they "are directly at odds with Seven Seven Six's core values."
"We have been working closely with Dispo over the last week," his statement continued, "and are in full support of their decision to part ways with David."
Ohanian also revealed their decision to "donate any profits from our investment in Dispo to an organization working with survivors of sexual assault." The entrepreneur concluded his statement, "We have believed in Dispo's mission since the beginning and will continue to support the hardworking team bringing it to life." 776's Twitter account also shared the same statement.
Hours earlier, Spark Capital made its own announcement. "In light of recent news about the Vlog Squad and David Dobrik, the cofounder of Dispo, we have made the decision to sever all ties with the company," a tweeted statement read. "We have stepped down from our position on the board and we are in the process of making arrangements to ensure we do not profit from our recent investment in Dispo."
On March 16, Business Insider published an allegation from a woman, called by the pseudonym Hannah, who spoke with the website under the condition of anonymity. Hannah alleged to the website that in 2018 while a 20-year-old college student, she and Dominykas Zeglaitis had a sexual encounter. According to the report, citing phone interviews with Hannah, she was allegedly incapacitated by alcohol, which she claimed members of the Vlog Squad provided to her and her friends, and could not consent.
According to Business Insider, Dobrik allegedly filmed Hannah at Zeglaitis' apartment and as she entered his bedroom. Per the report, he allegedly later uploaded a "SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED WITH FIRE!!" vlog that amassed 5 million views before it was deleted at her request.
Zeglaitis, who is no longer part of the Vlog Squad, declined to comment to Business Insider about the allegations. In a statement released to E! News on March 16 about the Business Insider story, Dobrik's attorney Bryan Freedman said, "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." E! News reached out to Zeglaitis for comment on March 16 and has not heard back.
Later March 16, Dobrik uploaded a video message to his VIEWS YouTube account. "Consent is something that's super, super important to me, whether I'm shooting with a friend or shooting with a stranger—I always make sure that whatever the video I'm putting out, I have the approval from that person," he said in the video. "I also acknowledge that there's times where a person can change their mind and they decide that they no longer want to be associated, they no longer want to be in the video that I'm putting up and then I'll take the video down."
"There's also been moments where I've looked back on videos and I realize that these don't represent me anymore," Dobrik continued, "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 and I don't agree with some of the videos I've posted."
Dobrik seemingly referenced Zeglaitis when he said, "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. I've been really disappointed by some of my friends, and for that reason, I've separated from a lot of 'em."
Since allegations have emerged about Dobrik's past videos, brands such as DoorDash and HelloFresh confirmed to E! News they are no longer working with Dobrik. For more on the accusations, read E!'s breakdown here.