Youtuber David Dobrik has made an estimated net worth of $20 million as of 2021. He has 20 million subscribers, a podcast, merchandise, and won a Teen Choice Award in 2019. In sum, David Dobrik has been incredibly successful, in some ways changing the game of vlogging. 

Dobrik’s content consists of short clips of his friend group, known as the “Vlog Squad.” He is especially well known for giving cars to his friends or random people through his sponsorship with a company called SeatGeek. His videos are chaotic and hilarious, and he has a strong following. That is, until a woman who appeared in one of his videos a few years ago came forward reporting sexual assault. She said she was “given alcohol by Vlog Squad members and became intoxicated to the point of blacking out,” and then taken advantage of by David’s friends (Dodgson 1). Dobrik was not the one who assaulted her, it was his friend Durte Dom, but the reason Dobrik is tied in is that he condoned it by filming the whole scene and then posting it. In addition to Dom, “Joseth “Seth” Francois also came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct stemming from a 2017 prank video” where he felt tricked into doing something he was not comfortable with (Monton 1). He reported that Dobrik offered him compensation to keep the video up, since he knew Seth did not like it. 

The real issue that has cost Dobrik so many followers, is that he is chasing content at the expense of those around him. It seems like he just wants a good video to get views even if he has to hurt people along the way. 

Dobrik is known for never addressing conflict, yet since the news broke he has apologized on both his youtube and his podcast. In his podcast Dobrik said, “consent is something that’s super, super important to me.” He went on to say, “whether I am shooting with a friend, or I am shooting with a stranger, I make sure whatever video I am putting out I have the approval from that person.” (Dobrik 1).  His youtube apology brought him to tears thinking about the harm his videos caused for those who spoke up. 

Beyond those allegations, Dobrik also apologized for some other offensive content that he used to put out that “featured racially insensitive jokes” (Dodgson 1). He said that, when looking at old videos, he “realized that these don’t represent [him] anymore, and they’re hurtful to other people, and [he doesn’t] want them up” (Dobrik). 

His last main message was that his goal is “to make people happy and inspire people,” and he plans to take action to get back on track and better his wrongdoings (Dobrik). Now, he has to trust that his fanbase will believe him. Youtubers are constantly churning out apology videos like this, but maybe since he has almost never done one before, it will hold more weight. Only time will tell, but as of now he has absolutely fallen victim to the harsh cancel culture that threatens every public figure’s career at any time.