YouTuber and former member of David Dobrik’s creator crew (the Vlog Squad) Seth Francois comes forward and says he was sexually assaulted in one of Dobrik’s prank videos he targeted for.
The said video was released in June 2017 and has now been viewed nearly 10 million times. The prank is titled “HE THOUGHT HE WAS KISSING HER!! (SUPER CRINGEY)” and involves Dobrik Francois telling him that he’s going to be kissed by fellow influencer and model Corinna Kopf. However, the person that was disguised was Dobrik’s friend and frequent–video guest Jason Nash.
Francois spoke to both Insider and Buzzfeed News regarding this experience and said that he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to bring attention to the situation because “he felt like his masculinity was stripped from him” and he had to rediscover himself again.
“I honestly didn’t realize how much that situation affected me until the beginning of last year when COVID happened,” he shared with Buzzfeed. “I remember sitting in my room in Atlanta and I was thinking to myself, ‘That video was wrong.’ I just felt like that shouldn’t have happened to me.”
The YouTuber left the Vlog Squad in 2019 but he didn’t really begin to process and reflect on the video until the summer of 2020. He mentioned how the Black Lives Matter movement and George Floyd’s death made him realize that he was basically Dobrik’s “token” Black man for his videos.
Francois stated that by Dobrik using him and his race as the punchline for many of his pranks, it allowed and made fans feel like it was okay to openly make racist jokes about him as well.
He also said that he never wanted “cancel” anyone and simply wanted Dobrik’ to take down the videos but Francois says that he’s had no success in getting him to do so. At this point, he’s even considered taking legal action against Dobrik.
Francois wants to “make sure everyone understands how big of a problem it is” and hopefully inspire other men who have been sexually assaulted to come forward.
Both Dobrik and Nash haven’t commented or put out a statement on the matter even though Buzzed and Insider have reached out for comment.
What do you think about the situation? Should David Dobrik be held accountable for his actions? Let us know on Twitter @celebsecrets and don’t forget to leave a reaction down below.
