- Clips from an old
David Dobrik vlog resurfaced and went viral recently after being shared on TikTok. - The video shows a woman claiming to have been drunk when
Vlog Squad memberDurte Dom 'hooked up' with her. - Dobrik has been facing backlash following a rape allegation against Durte Dom.
A woman who was featured in a 2017 David Dobrik vlog has come forward to apologize for her participation after clips of the group appearing to laugh about a potential sexual assault went viral on TikTok.
The footage shows Dobrik asking the woman (since identified as actor Lindsey Groll) whether she gave consent to "hook up" with Vlog Squad member Durte Dom, whose real name is Dominykas Zeglaitis, in October 2016. Dobrik, who is one of the most popular YouTubers on the platform with more than 18 million subscribers, has faced huge backlash in the past weeks following a rape allegation against Zeglaitis, who used to be a regular in Dobrik's vlogs and a member of Dobrik's Vlog Squad.
In the resurfaced video, Groll responds to Dobrik's question saying that she was drunk, to which Zeglaitis replies, "yeah well, I was drunk too, so it's consensual."
Dobrik can be heard behind the camera laughing despite contradicting Zeglaitis, saying, "no, it's not consensual." In another clip, Groll says,"he just came up, and did what he wanted."
The spotlight has been on the Vlog Squad since the rape accusation against Zeglaitis was first published by Insider on March 16, 2021. The woman alleged that the assault took place during the filming of a video for Dobrik's channel in 2018. She said she was encouraged to drink alcohol and was sexually assaulted by Zeglaitis while "blackout" drunk. In recent weeks, a lot of old content from Dobrik's channels is being newly scrutinized across social media.
The clips from the vlog Groll appeared in began circulating after it was posted on TikTok earlier this month by user @cbass429, who said they did not watch Dobrik's vlogs, but added, "is anyone surprised?" likely in reference to allegations of sexual assault against Zeglaitis.
@cbass429 ♬ original sound - Cbass429
The scene was part of a vlog entitled "WHO IS HIS NEW GIRL!!?" which was uploaded to Dobrik's main channel on May 9, 2017. At the time of writing it has been viewed more than 18.2 million times. The TikTok clip has also gone viral on Twitter and Reddit, where it has been reposted by multiple users, and was widely interpreted as depicting Dobrik and Zeglaitis laughing at the suggestion that the encounter was not consensual.
However, on March 29, 2021, Groll said that the entire scene was scripted, and that her perceived awkwardness was due to her lack of acting experience at the time. In a statement posted on Instagram Stories she wrote, "I've seen a clip going around of me in David's vlog and wanted to address it. That whole bit was scripted and the reason I was so awkward is [because] it was my first time in a vlog [and] I was nervous/bad at acting."
Groll continued, "I wasn't aware of any of the things that were going on at the time and clearly didn't understand the gravity of the situation. I apologize for participating in it. It's not cool to make light of such [a] serious and terrible topic."
Since the rape allegation against Zeglaitis emerged Dobrik has lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers. He's filmed two apology videos, stepped down from the board of Dispo, an app he cofounded, been dropped by at least 13 brands he previously worked with, and had his channels demonetized by YouTube.