The fall of David Dobrik signals the end of YouTube prank culture
or so i hope
i’ve been writing this newsletter since tuesday. here. take it. take it from me!!
content dump
why we love anonymous youtubers like corpse husband so much
this dude on twitch literally just streams himself all day every day
would you pay to follow someone on instagram? it’s a thing
can influencers have romantic relationships with fans?
there’s never been a better time to be basic
tiktokers are obsessed with corsets (thanks bridgerton) and i just feel like there’s gonna be a reckoning sometime soon. like, is everyone's spine ok?
yahoo news got 1 million followers on tiktok in one year! that’s more than the washington post guy somehow. good for them.
bestie did an episode of the cut’s podcast about reality shifting!!
adhd tiktok is helping people realize they’ve had it all this time
the new celebrity gossip is anti-gossip (wholesome celeb stories)
drama of the week
The fall of David Dobrik signals the end of YouTube prank culture
tw: mention of r*pe and SA (no description)
In February, I interviewed David Dobrik. I thought it was going to be an incredibly fulfilling story for me, in a way, because I had been a fan of his smile and upbeat demeanor for the past year or so (since I stepped into this digital youth culture beat.)
I was given just 10 minutes to speak to him, largely about hot sauce, and instructed not to ask about “drama.” He was busy, his people said.
On the phone, he was charming. I asked my little hot sauce questions, he swore more than his team probably would have liked him to, and I got to sneak a big ask in there — what happened to your vlogs, and are you coming back?
“I don’t know. I don’t know where the vlogs are,” he told me. “I don’t know and I’m sure my fans are disappointed in me and I wish I had an answer.”
Kinda seemed like something was up, but he didn’t want to address anything or make any major statements. He never really does.
David is famous for his vlogs — 4:21 bursts of chaos, largely involving pranks and destruction. For a long time, the greatest criticism of David was his tendency to put his friends in danger while filming stuff for the “Vlog Squad,” which was essentially a little prank boy frat.
(i am following him still because i am a journalist)
Pranks are, and always have been, bad. The Office fans, don’t be mad at me, those pranks are not real. Any time you are blindsiding someone on camera so millions of people can laugh at them, you’re missing a measure of consent that is really important when it comes to protecting someone’s mental and physical health.
There have long been rumors that the Vlog Squad had a sort of “toxic” and “cult-like” environment. It wasn’t until noted controversy hound Trisha Paytas and established IDGAF YouTuber Ethan Klein (who are now podcast hosts bound together by Paytas’ engagement to Klein’s brother in law — more on that relationship from Insider’s Lindsay Dodgson), that former Vlog Squad collaborators started coming forward and putting faces/names to allegations of bad behavior surrounding David’s videos and the whole group. TLDR on those various, horrifying allegations here.
On Tuesday, a bombshell report from Insider’s Kat Tenbarge detailed allegations of rape against a member of the Vlog Squad. David shared the video, and his involvement in its production has been called into question, and until this story dropped it was STILL VERY MUCH AVAILABLE ON HIS CHANNEL. I encourage you to read that report above if you feel comfortable doing so.
Anyway, it prompted an extremely rare apology on David’s behalf. He’s built his whole career around giggling off drama and ignoring people into the ground, so this seemed like something, right???
Wrong.
He took to his MUCH smaller *podcast* YouTube channel (not his main channel or even his second channel, mind you) to drop a short video titled “Let’s Talk,” then promptly denied the possibility of any direct conversation by turning off its comments.
For two and a half minutes, he dodged responsibility and details (he called former collaborator Seth Francois’ claim he was sexually assaulted in a video “the Seth situation,” for instance) and spouted excuses for the content of his videos that I’ve heard from frat dudes for years.
“Consent is something that’s super, super important to me…”
“…I missed the mark with that one….”
“…disappointed with some of my friends..,”
Pitiful, in my opinion.
Even if he truly did nothing wrong — didn’t know anyone had withdrawn consent, didn’t know the ages of anyone involved, didn’t mean to hurt anyone, didn’t know the effect these videos have had on people — people deserve heartfelt, authentic words that directly address the wrong that has been done.
Until this week, I had a picture of David hanging on my fridge. He’s cute! Funny! Well-known! Upbeat! Exactly the type of man who could get away with anything because he’s “just not that kind of guy.” Who could deny any responsibility for his role in ugly situations because that’s “just not who he is.”
The way we stop letting alleged enablers and other bad actors get away with their alleged behavior is to unfollow them. Block them. Do not watch their videos. Do not let them get paid for your view or get sponsorship deals because of your subscription. Challenge those brands that do support them.
I once thought of David as an “unproblematic king” who I could support because of his penchant for giving away money and staying out of drama and working on fun little projects like puzzles and podcasts and voter registration and audiobooks and camera apps. But the truth is, unchecked power and popularity are never a good thing. Celebrity can be a safety net for bad behavior. We should hold truth to all power, even if that power is endorsed by Nickelodeon and largely exists on the kid-friendly internet.
I’m not calling for the cancellation of *any* personality who has been accused of letting anyone get away with anything. I’m saying there’s something deeper at work here. We can’t excuse an entire foundation of alleged (and NOT alleged — visibly problematic content has come out of the Vlog Squad) bad behavior a career has been founded on.
A question that plagues me: How could we have let him and his cohort get away with alleged and confirmed bad behavior for so long without question? That’s someone else’s thinkpiece to write. All I know is that the whole “taking advantage of/humiliating/traumatizing people for content” trend must die.
I would not be surprised if YouTube prank videos tank after this. Good.
Note: I hesitated to share my take on this at all because I know in the coming days this situation will change and more allegations will surface as well as archival footage of David talking about incidents and all that. To stay in the loop, I highly recommend following Def Noodles, Ethan Klein and Insider.
i don’t think you understand, i’m obsessed
i did not glow up in quarantine and you don’t have to either. we are all focused on survival, here. thank you vice for saying it better than me.
on that note, i’m really grateful that recreating popular outfits on plus size bodies is a trend now
i’m going to become a star on big forehead tiktok
can someone explain to me why these men who work out all the time think that they can beat each other up? like what is it about boxing specifically.
from yours truly
i spent a lot of time curating david dobrik news, here’s my tldr if you missed it above
down with low-rise jeans!!!! y2k fashion is inherently fatphobic, here’s why
this dietician who explained why diets don’t work is my bestie
ok so this tiktok couple who met/got married/created a baby in 3 months also STARTED A JOINT ACCOUNT and SEPARATED within a year. he prob cheated. read more
you probably know this already but billie eilish has the same hair as me now. it’s the “i burned my hair going blonde” haircut, some people call it a shag, and don’t you dare copy us!!
love you bye
kelsey