David Dobrik releases second apology video: “I’ve let a lot of people down”

YouTube star David Dobrik has released a second apology video, addressing the ongoing sexual abuse allegations against Vlog Squad member Durte Dom, and apologizing for his “cowardly” original response released late last week.

Following his March 16 apology, David Dobrik has released a seven-minute video responding to the controversies surrounding him and the Vlog Squad.

The most majority of these include sexual assault allegations leveled against former Vlog Squad star Dominykas Zeglaitis, better known as ‘Durte Dom,’ dating back to a video in late 2018.

“I fully believe the woman that came out against Dom and said she was sexually assaulted by him,” he said. “I got consent to post the video, but even though I got consent, I should have never posted it. What I understand now… is she sent that text because she felt like she had to, and that’s f**ked up.

“It was cowardly of me to say in my last apology I ‘missed the mark’,” he added in the video, titled 03/22/21, “because it’s fucking gross, and I’m sorry.”

The YouTube star revealed he would be “taking a short break” from social media.

“It doesn’t feel right to go back to posting how I had been, and it doesn’t feel right to go dark because I love what I do. But I feel like it’s important to show that change is possible and I’m learning. Maybe even forgiveness is possible,” he said.

The YouTuber also apologized for how he initially reacted to Dom’s allegations.

“I’m sorry that I took Dom’s word for what happened in those certain situations and I didn’t believe you,” he said.

“Not only did I not believe you, but I made a joke about what kind of a person Dom was because I couldn’t wrap my head around a childhood friend of mine actually doing this to people. Not only didn’t I discredit you Ali, but I platformed Dom, and I platformed sexual assault in a negative way where I made jokes about it and I reinforced that kind of behavior.

“I really let you down, and a lot of people down.

“I didn’t go back to any of these women and apologize. I kind of moved on and I learned from it, but I didn’t address the situation.

• Read More: Durte Dom faces more sexual misconduct allegations

“I didn’t reach out to any of these people, and it breaks my heart knowing that I was doing all this stuff while there were people still really hurt by what I made.”

After the allegations against Durte Dom surfaced in March, Dobrik was accused of fostering a toxic workplace on his channel. He has been accused by former YouTube co-workers of creating an atmosphere that left them feeling “worthless” and “traumatized.”

The backlash has seen Dobrik lose sponsorships with Electronic Arts, HBO, and more. There have been efforts to ‘review bomb’ his Dispo app as well, and he began losing followers in massive numbers. An apology video the star has since described as “cowardly” was also met with massive vitriol.

On March 22, he also left Dispo to “not distract” from the app’s growth.