- In March, Insider reported that a woman accused a former
Vlog Squad member of sexual assault. Natalie Mariduena defendedDavid Dobrik after he faced backlash related to the allegations.Trisha Paytas pushed back against Mariduena's comments in a new YouTube video.
In a video published on Monday, YouTuber Trisha Paytas responded to David Dobriks' childhood friend Natalie Mariduena's defense of David Dobrik in relation to the sexual assault allegations made against former Vlog Squad member Dom Zeglaitis that Insider reported in March.
Mariduena, in addition to being Dobrik's childhood friend, is an influencer with 3.8 million Instagram followers who appears in his vlogs and is the co-founder of the photo app Dispo, which Dobrik co-found and later stepped away from amid backlash.
On the "BFFs" podcast hosted by TikToker Josh Richards and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, Mariduena said that "another guy did something and David just happened to be there." She also defended Dobrik, saying that "everything that happened was really s---ty and he's a really great guy," as Insider previously reported.
In her video, Paytas said that they had "zero respect" for Mariduena and pushed back against comments she made in reference to the allegations against Zeglaitis.
Insider reported in March that a woman accused Zeglaitis, known online by the moniker "Durte Dom," of raping her in 2018 when she and her friends were extras in a vlog that was posted on (and later deleted from) Dobrik's YouTube channel.
Dobrik faced significant backlash following the allegations against Zeglaitis, losing several brand partnerships and going on a temporary social media hiatus after posting two apology videos.
"David wasn't just there. He was an accomplice and he was actually like the main driving point, the main reason, and he put it all over the internet to see," Paytas said in response to Mariduena's comments.
Insider originally reported that Dobrik filmed the woman at the apartment and uploaded the vlog several days after the alleged rape, where it was viewed 5 million times before Dobrik deleted it at her request. In an apology video, Dobrik said that he believed the woman who accused Zeglaitis of sexual assault and said that he "should have never posted" the vlog. He apologized for putting the woman and her friends in an environment that he "enabled."
Paytas, a former Vlog Squad member, previously told Insider that they were present the night of the alleged assault for about 45 minutes, but left because of underage drinking.
"That's the sentiment that they're all thinking. The entire Vlog Squad is thinking what Natalie is saying, which is like, 'Oh he was just there, he did nothing wrong,'" Paytas said.
Mariduena and Paytas did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
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