David Dobrik says he 'couldn't see' how an explosive Vlog Squad rape allegation was 'connected' to him

• David Dobrik gave his first interview to Rolling Stone after a Vlog Squad rape scandal.
• He said that "part of him" still doesn't understand how the allegations are connected to him.
• Dobrik filmed and made a video about an encounter in which Dom Zeglaitis was accused of rape.

David Dobrik is back on YouTube and back in the news with a Rolling Stone profile: his first interview following explosive rape allegations against Dom Zeglaitis, a former member of Dobrik's internet-famous Vlog Squad.

Dobrik, 24, lost a slew of sponsorships, temporarily lost YouTube ad revenue earnings, and stepped down from his venture capital-funded startup Dispo after Insider's bombshell March 2021 report prompted wide backlash.

The creator, who has more than 18 million YouTube subscribers, told Rolling Stone that he "couldn't see how [the allegations against Zeglaitis] were connected to me" after first reading Insider's report.

But, according to his interview in Rolling Stone, which took place in April, part of him still didn't see how the allegations were connected to him, even after posting two apology videos: "Dobrik says part of him still feels that way," Rolling Stone's EJ Dickson wrote.

"I didn't understand that what we were making had such power. I didn't understand it," Dobrik said. "So when [the Insider story came out], I was like, 'What? I'm responsible for someone making a bad decision?' I didn't get it. But it was all because of this environment of wanting to put on this show."

Zeglaitis' accuser, identified by Insider with the pseudonym "Hannah," said she was too drunk to consent to sex one night in November 2018 when she alleges Zeglaitis raped her.

Vlog Squad members, including Dobrik, were present the night Hannah and her friends went to Zeglaitis' apartment to film content for Dobrik's channel. The resulting YouTube video featured Zeglaitis, known online as "Durte Dom," attempting to have a "five-some" with Hannah and her friends. The video shows Hannah and another woman walking into Zeglaitis' bedroom.

Hannah later told Insider that she believed Dobrik "facilitated" her alleged rape.

Dobrik said he believed Zeglaitis despite multiple accusers

Dobrik told Rolling Stone that if he knew Zeglaitis (who has denied that sexual acts with Hannah were nonconsensual) was seemingly assaulting someone nearby, he would have interfered.

"I knew where I went wrong, but I was not in the room, I was not aware of what was going on," Dobrik told Rolling Stone about the night, which was in November 2018. "None of my friends were. They would have kicked that f---ing door down if anybody knew what was going on, allegedly."

Hannah and a friend who spoke to Insider also said that Dobrik's friends gave them alcohol, though they were under the legal drinking age. Photos provided to Insider also showed Hannah and her friends standing with Dobrik and other Vlog Squad members as they left the apartment.

In February 2019, Hannah told Zeglaitis in text messages reviewed by Insider that she felt "taken advantage of" and wanted the video taken down from Dobrik's channel. Just over an hour later, Dobrik removed the video.

Dobrik said that he believed Zeglaitis' assertion that the sexual acts were consensual until 2019, when another woman reached out with separate allegations about Zeglaitis, according to the Rolling Stone interview.

"That's where I was like, 'I'm done. I can't film with him.' And what I didn't do is, I didn't do a good job of communicating that with him, and I didn't do a good job of going back to these girls and apologizing," Dobrik said.

In 2017, Zeglaitis was publicly accused of sexual assault by another YouTuber, Ally Hardesty, who said he groped her breast under her shirt at a party that year.

Zeglaitis apologized at the time - although he said "some" parts of the allegations weren't true - and Dobrik commented on his apology video, writing, "Proud of you Dom. Being an idiot is easy. Owning up to it is tough! Glad you made this!!!"