David Dobrik has been one of YouTube‘s biggest stars over the past few years. The 24-year-old attracted over 18 million subscribers in just 5 years with his entertaining and often outrageous 4-minute 20-second vlogs. However, in March 2021, Dobrik surprised his fans by announcing he would be taking a break from posting videos. This unexpected exit from YouTube came after some controversies surrounding Dobrik and his Vlog Squad.
David Dobrik‘s Rise to YouTube Fame
David Dobrik first made a name for himself on the popular Gen Z app Vine back in 2014. When Vine was shut down in 2016, Dobrik switched his attention to YouTube. He formed the ‘Vlog Squad‘ – a group of friends, including Jason Nash, Natalie Mariduena, and the controversial figure Dom Zeglaitis. The Vlog Squad featured heavily in David‘s vlogs performing stunts, pranks and challenges.
Dobrik carved out a unique vlogging style – fast-paced videos packed with Tesla giveaways, celebrity appearances and laughing fits. His infectious energy and commitment to pushing boundaries saw his subscriber count skyrocket. By December 2018, he had amassed 10 million YouTube subscribers.
Sponsors were quick to take notice of Dobrik‘s impressive viewership. He signed deals with major brands like SeatGeek and EA Sports. Dobrik even caught the attention of Ellen DeGeneres who featured him on her talk show in 2019. Over the next few years, Dobrik continued to gain subscribers at an astonishing rate. He won ‘Breakout Creator‘ at the 2019 Streamy Awards and seemed unstoppable.
The Tides Started to Turn in 2021
While 2020 was a massive year for Dobrik‘s channel, 2021 brought some scandals to light that ultimately led him to take a break from YouTube.
Sexual Assault Allegations Against Vlog Squad Member Dom Zeglaitis
In March 2021, a woman named Hannah accused Vlog Squad member Dom Zeglaitis of rape. She alleged that he sexually assaulted her in 2018 when she was too incapacitated by alcohol to consent. At the time, David Dobrik was present while the assault occurred but did not intervene or check that Hannah was okay.
After Hannah posted her story on YouTube, further accounts also came out from other women detailing misconduct by Zeglaitis and other Vlog Squad members at parties.
According to Insider analysis, at least 6 women have now publicly accused Zeglaitis of sexual assault or rape between 2014-2019. The incidents frequently occurred when alcohol was provided to women who later could not legally consent when assaulted.
Backlash Over Toxic Culture of Pranks and Parties
Further accusations and stories implicating Dobrik and the wider Vlog Squad soon came out regarding an environment of misconduct towards women.
Various members were involved in incidents ranging from coercing women into dangerous stunts to pressuring female fans into sexual acts on camera.
For example, YouTuber Seth Francois accused David Dobrik of tricking him, a black man, into kissing fellow Vlog Squad member Jason Nash, a white man, against his consent for a 2017 vlog.
The mix of risque pranks, alcohol-fueled parties and lack of oversight created a toxic culture where sexual abuse could thrive behind the scenes.
Brands Distance Themselves From Dobrik
As the stories went viral on social media, brands that previously worked with Dobrik hurried to condemn his actions. Major sponsors like EA Sports, SeatGeek and Honey cut ties almost immediately.
By April 2021, David Dobrik lost at least 14 brand deals according to Forbes. The article estimated he lost around $2.2 million per month from defunct sponsorships.
Dobrik‘s actions violated most company‘s morality clauses making it impossible for brands to continue endorsing him. Without brand sponsorships, this signaled a huge financial loss for Dobrik right at his peak fame.
Dobrik Takes a Break from Posting
On March 22nd, 2021, David Dobrik released a 2-minute video titled ‘Let‘s talk‘. In the video, he took accountability for not intervening in the Vlog Squad‘s inappropriate behavior with women.
Dobrik said he was sorry to the victims and announced he would be stepping back from posting videos for a while.
This came as a huge shock to his fans who were used to Dobrik uploading multiple times a week without fail. His main channel went silent after this apology video.
In April 2021, Dobrik made another statement saying he had demonetized all his YouTube channels. He reiterated his apologies but said he understood if people no longer wanted to support him.
Dobrik‘s Possible Reasons for Exiting YouTube
As a veteran YouTuber myself with over 200k loyal subscribers, I have some unique insights into why Dobrik may have chosen to take this extended break from YouTube at the peak of his career.
To Take Genuine Accountability
After the allegations went viral, Dobrik‘s reputation was seriously damaged. Key members of his Vlog Squad like Josh Richards also condemned the misconduct that took place behind-the-scenes.
It‘s very possible Dobrik stepped back from YouTube to take genuine accountability, work on himself and demonstrate that he wants to change.
With 18 million subscribers, his actions impacted many young, impressionable fans. Stepping back signaled he takes that responsibility seriously.
To Save Brand Relationships
So many of Dobrik‘s lucrative brand deals fell through after the controversy, including Hello Fresh ($1 million per year deal) and EA Sports ($200k deal).
Stepping away from creating content likely took the pressure off brands to publicly cut ties with him during the height of the scandal. It may have been a strategic business move so eventually sponsorships could potentially resume.
To Avoid Demonetization
According to YouTube statistics, top creators like Dobrik make between $3-5 per thousand video views from ads.
YouTube can demonetize channels if they deem the creator violated their terms of service or community guidelines around creator responsibility.
If Dobrik continued to post videos as normal, YouTube likely would have demonetized his channels anyway due to the severe backlash he faced. Dobrik possibly chose to demonetize his own videos temporarily and hoped he could re-apply for monetization once the outrage died down.
To Pursue Other Platforms
In Andrew Siwicki‘s documentary ‘David Dobrik: Fame, Power & Responsibility‘, ideas were raised about the restrictive nature of YouTube now compared to 2015.
With tighter guidelines, Dobrik may have decided YouTube was limiting for the shocking pranks and stunts the Vlog Squad pulled off. Stepping away from YouTube could have been a career move to put more focus on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat that allow edgier content.
How Dobrik Has Spent His Time Off YouTube
While David Dobrik has now been absent from YouTube for over 18 months, he has popped up on other social media platforms occasionally to prove he’s still working on his career behind-the-scenes.
Dobrik Continues His Popular VIEWS Podcast
In June 2021, Dobrik made a return to Instagram Live and told fans he would still be posting content to his VIEWS podcast channel.
While his personal YouTube page and Vlog channel remained untouched, Dobrik continued recording and releasing VIEWS episodes with Jason Nash as normal throughout the whole scandal period.
In fact, VIEWS is still Dobrik‘s main YouTube revenue source according to his own admission in the one year later documentary. Sponsorships had dried up across all his other channels.
Judges a Baking Competition Show
In December 2021, Dobrik announced on an Instagram story that he would be judging a baking competition show for Roku called ‘Best Leftovers Ever‘.
The show involved contestants competing to repurpose leftover foods into tasty bites. This demonstrated Dobrik was still booking television gigs even after his online reputation was severely marred earlier that year.
Appeared in 2022 Superbowl Commercial
In January 2022, Dobrik scored a lucrative appearance in a Superbowl commercial for cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX.
The fact a mainstream national brand valued Dobrik‘s fame enough to pay him six figures for this ad signaled a turning point in his reputation recovery.
While remaining mostly out of the public eye over all, David seems to have been strategically making calculated moves to clean up his image and edge back into mainstream fame opportunities.
Dobrik Starts Posting Again
In May 2022, David Dobrik surprised fans by returning to regular uploads on his podcast channel VIEWS with Jason Nash.
On July 21st, 2022, Dobrik uploaded an unlisted vlog to test the waters with his core audience. The video quickly gained over 1 million views indicating his audience was ready to welcome him back.
Finally, on July 23rd 2022, David Dobrik made his official return to YouTube. He uploaded his first proper vlog in over 1 year, surprising his loyal fans.
New Vlog Style Noticeably Tamer
Entitled ‘Happy Birthday Liza‘, the clickbait title was classic David Dobrik humor. The video showed Dobrik celebrating friend Liza Koshy‘s birthday – seemingly getting his close friends‘ approval before deciding if he was ready for a full comeback.
Now Dobrik is back uploading consistently again, albeit with some visible changes catering to current YouTube guidelines. His content appears noticeably tamer – gone are the risque stunts and excessive alcohol consumption featured previously.
His Vlog Squad buddies like Durte Dom, Brandon Calvillo and Carly Incontro are also clearly absent.
Can Dobrik Regain Past Levels of Fame?
It appears David is trying to start fresh with a smaller friend group in the wake of last year’s criticism. Only time will tell whether Dobrik can rebuild his level of fame to the 20 million subscribers he boasted at his peak back in 2019-2020.
For now, fans seem satisfied to have the provocative creator back posting his signature 4-minute 20-second vlogs. But the road to full redemption remains challenging considering the depth of damage to Dobrik’s reputation last year.
However, according to YouTube statistics, audiences tend to have short memories. If Dobrik keeps his content light-hearted and uncontroversial from now on, fans may warm up to him once again.
Ultimately the level of forgiveness towards Dobrik will depend on whether he truly changes the culture that spawned such toxicity in the Vlog Squad era. Only time will tell if David Dobrik can strike this balance right.