David Dobrik divorced Dispo, the disposable camera app compiled by the YouTuber in 2019, after allegations of sexual assault were made against a former member of his Vlog group. The information reports.
“David has chosen to retire from the board and leave the company so as not to detract from the growth of the business,” Dispo said in a statement, “Dispo’s team, product and most importantly – our community – stand For building a diverse, inclusive, and empowering world. ”
Dobrik’s decision to leave Dispo follows a report from Insider in which one of the women appeared in a 2018 vlog, said a former member of Dobrik’s Vlog group had sex with her while she was too drunk to agree. She was then 20 years old and said that friends of Dobrik supplied her and her friends with alcohol as they were too young to buy it for themselves. Dobrik titled footage from the night of the incident titled “SHE DIDN’T PLAY WITH FIRE !!” which was later taken at the request of the woman concerned. “We’re all going to jail,” Dobrik said at the end of the video.
On the same day as Dobrik’s departure from Dispo, venture capital firm Spark Capital announced it would cut ties with the company after leading its recent $ 20 million round of financing. “In light of recent news about the Vlog group and David Dobrik, the co-founder of Dispo, we have made the decision to sever all ties with the company,” the firm tweeted, “We have resigned from our position on the board. and we are in the process of making arrangements to ensure that we do not benefit from our recent investment in Dispo. ”
Several sponsors have also severed ties or are reviewing their partnerships with Dobrik in light of the allegations. The New York Times reports that sponsors, including HelloFresh and Dollar Shave Club, are no longer working with the YouTuber or his team. Dobrik’s main YouTube channel lost more than 100,000 subscribers after the allegations were made public, and Dispo’s App Store page was bombarded with negative ratings.
2 / We have resigned from our position on the board and we are in the process of making arrangements to ensure that we do not benefit from our recent investment in Dispo.
– Spark Capital (@sparkcapital) 22 March 2021
While Dobrik declined to comment Insider on the report he later published a video entitled ‘Let’s talk’ in which he discussed the controversy in general terms. “I do not agree with some of the videos I posted,” he says in the video, adding that there were “moments when I looked back at videos, and I realize that they no longer represent me, and they hurts other people. ” Buzzfeed reported on separate allegations about the YouTuber last month by a former Vlog group member, which he addresses in the same apology video.
“I was really disappointed in some of my friends, and that’s why I divorced a lot of them,” Dobrik said. Insider points out that the member of the Vlog group accused of sexual assault did not appear in videos on Dobrik’s channel at the end of 2019. “Consent is super important to me,” Dobrik said. “I’m sorry if I let you down, and such things will not happen again, and I learned from my mistakes.”
Dispo is an iOS app designed to mimic the process of using a disposable camera. Photos you take will only be available the next day at 09:00 and can be ordered directly from the app as prints.