The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2021
13 brands dropped David Dobrik in one week
After an Insider report about a 2018 video, 13 brands — Dollar Shave Club, Chipotle, DoorDash and more — cut ties within a week.
David Dobrik (YouTuber) · Dollar Shave Club · Chipotle · DoorDash · EA · HelloFresh · 2021-03-23
What happened
On March 16, 2021, Insider published an investigation into a 2018 video on David Dobrik's channel: a woman said she was raped that night by Vlog Squad member Dominykas Zeglaitis, while Dobrik filmed her and her friends. The same day Dobrik posted an apology video in which he said: 'I fully believe the woman who came out against Dom and said she was sexually assaulted and raped by him.'
The brands moved within days. Insider contacted 33 companies that had worked with him; thirteen confirmed they were done — HelloFresh, EA, Dollar Shave Club, DoorDash, Chipotle, General Mills, HBO Max, Facebook, Audible, Bumble, Frank's RedHot, Honey and Postmates. Dollar Shave Club said the actions and comments 'are very serious and do not align with DSC values'; DoorDash said it had terminated its sponsorship of his podcast; Chipotle said it had no future initiatives planned together.
The damage reached his own ventures too: on March 21 Dobrik announced he was stepping down from the board of Dispo, the photo app he co-founded, and Dispo investor Spark Capital severed its ties. Forbes had estimated his influencer business earned $15.5 million in the year to June 2020; the brand roster that paid it emptied in a week.
Why it happened
- An influencer business is a portfolio of separate brand contracts, and each partner decided on its own — yet almost all of them reached the same conclusion within days.
- The allegations came with a first-party acknowledgment: Dobrik's own apology video, posted the day the investigation ran, said he believed the woman's account.
- The exits were final in wording: 'no longer working with', 'do not have any plans to work with them again in the future' — a roster that took years to build was written off in one week.
The lesson
An influencer business is a portfolio of brand contracts, and one verified report can cancel them all at once — each partner decided independently, and nearly all of them decided the same week.
Aftermath
The brands that left said they would not return, and the exodus became a reference point for how fast an influencer's roster can empty. Dobrik's channels continued, but the wave of brand partnerships did not come back, and the episode stayed attached to his name in every subsequent media profile.
Sources
- Business Insider — Brands That Have Stopped Working With YouTube Star David Dobrik: List, 23 Mar 2021 (13 brands with verbatim statements; his apology video quote; Dispo board exit; investors distancing)
- BuzzFeed News — Brands Drop David Dobrik Over Vlog Squad Misconduct Allegations, 22 Mar 2021 (DoorDash, HelloFresh, EA, Dollar Shave Club confirmations; Spark Capital severs ties with Dispo; apology video quotes)
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