For Millennials. By Millennials.
A major story broke out in the YouTuber community which has led many to lose their respect for David Dobrik, his vlog squad and Durte Dom in particular. Durte Dom (Dominykas Zeglaitis) was accused of raping a woman while unconscious. The woman had met Dom when she and her friends met the whole of David Dobrik’s vlog squad and filmed a video with them. The woman, anonymously given the name of Hannah, revealed all the horrific details of her traumatic sexual assault to Insider and stated that she had informed Durte Dom of how he had raped her. Durte Dom denies the allegation and said that everything that happened was ‘consensual’.
Related: More women come forward with sexual assault allegations against Durte Dom
What happened on the night of the assault?
Hannah and her friends decided to film and hang out with the vlog squad. It was quite famous at the time and Hannah’s friends were fans of the YouTuber group. However, Hannah herself had no idea about it but she was excited about meeting YouTubers and content creators. Before they agreed to do so, there were some talks of a “threesome” happening between the girls and Durte Dom. Some of the girls somewhat agreed to it but Hannah had no idea about this.
As the night went on, Hannah and her friends were in no mood for having a “threesome” with Durte Dom. But David Dobrik asked some of the vlog squad members to bring alcohol. Even though Hannah’s friend and Trisha Paytas say they saw Toddy Smith and Jeff Wittek bring the alcohol. Jeff Wittek publicly was the first one of the vlog squad members to address the situation and he actively denied his involvement. Initially, he got heated up at the reporter for breaking the story but then later realized he acted out of impulse and that he needed to understand the situation better. He firmly stood with the victim and said this should be a criminal investigation.
No one knows for sure who brought the alcohol but it was brought in and shared with Hannah and her friends. Hannah was not of legal drinking age at the time and she says she was pushed to drink alcohol by Durte Dom. She alleged that Durte Dom took her to a different part of the house (a dark bedroom). He blocked the door with his body and didn’t let Hannah leave unless she gave him a kiss. Hannah alleges that she was scared, helpless and out of choices as her friends were nowhere near. So, she reluctantly gave Durte Dom a kiss. After they returned to rest of the group, they all started to drink more.
Hannah got increasingly more drunk as the night went on. And then Durte Dom left to a bedroom with her and her friend Sarah. This bit was filmed in the vlog video for David Dobrik’s channel. It was presented as consensual.
But Hannah says that she was so unconscious and drunk that she has no memory of the night. Hence, she was in no mind to give her consent and permission for sexual intercourse with Durte Dom. Sarah, her friend, saw Durte Dom performing se*ual activity with an unconscious Hannah. Sarah says that she herself “finished” Durte Dom off so that he would leave Hannah alone. After he was done and left the room, Hannah was laying unconscious and couldn’t even get up. Hannah’s friends helped to dress her up in clothes and leave the apartment.
She realized later on that it was rape. The memories came back and it led to serious traumatic episodes of PTSD and depression. Hannah says that she finally got the courage to tell Durte Dom about what he did to her and asked him to take down the video. Durte Dom didn’t acknowledge the rape allegation but only informed her that the video was taken down.
David Dobrik made two apology videos regarding the sexual misconduct allegations, in particular the Durte Dom rape allegation. Dobrik said that he doesn’t associate with Dom anymore and it was wrong of him to not realize that something non-consensual was taking place. He apologized for his behavior and directly to the victims that had suffered. Dobrik said he was sorry that he gave someone like Dom a platform and why he didn’t understand how a power dynamic exists between content creators and fans that appear in his videos.
Durte Dom made a couple of TikToks where he seemingly joked about his allegations and now he is denying that he raped the woman
He made a few TikToks shading the vlog squad and for how he has been accused of sexual misconduct.
On Instagram Stories, he posted a statement about the rape and sexual misconduct allegations. He said that everything that happened on ‘that night’ were completely ‘consensual’:
It is time for me to address the recent allegations that have come out against me. I want to sincerely apologize directly to the women involved in this incident. I definitely empathize with the pain that everyone has suffered in this matter. With that being said, as far as I am concerned, everything that occurred during the night in question was completely consensual. I believe the statements that have come out against me are entirely misleading and shed an incorrect light on my involvement. My character is being unfairly attacked and the statements that exist in the public eye are unfairly defaming and assaulting my character and reputation.
After denying the rape allegation, Durte Dom goes on to say that he has donated to causes that champion woman’s rights and that he is trying to understand these issues more:
With that being said, if possible. I want to shed a positive light on the events that have transpired, and show the world who I truly am. I recently donated my time as well as thousands of dollars to several women’s rights groups to show my support for the unjustified and unnecessary struggles that women endure in our society on a daily basis. It is time for all of us to demonstrate more respect for one another in every facet of life.
Before this, he posted another Instagram Story saying that he missed his fans.
And then after posting his official statement addressing the allegations, he posted an Instagram Poll.
Durte Dom has not said anything other than this official statement. Currently, there is no criminal investigation taking place regarding this incident.
What do you think about the situation?
