In a blanket apology, David Dobrik admits he felt “ashamed and embarrassed” over resurfaced clips where he was caught making racially-insensitive jokes.
He addressed the matter during the podcast “VIEWS with David Dobrik and Jason Nash,” in the middle of “Karmageddon.”
Resurfaced videos
Several video clips of the popular YouTuber resurfaced on the internet, particularly one where he used the N-word.
This is not the only time Dobrik has been apprehended for being racially insensitive.
In a separate situation, he received public backlash along with his ex-girlfriend Liza Koshy where they mocked Asian accents as they rated Japanese candy.
His apology comes after days of silence on social media despite the backlash.
At the beginning of the podcast, he spoke about the Black Lives Matter movement and his problematic past.
Though he only has good intentions in all of his 700 videos, he admits to fall short when it comes to making people laugh.
“I want them to have a positive experience when they interact with anything I produce,”
“And with that being said, I feel like on a handful of occasions I just missed the mark on that, and that really bums me out.”
Criticism over old videos
In a past video where they tried Japanese candy and apparently mocked Asian accents, Dobrik explains:
“It’s not racist, that’s like the sounds I hear when they talk.”
Koshy, however, argues it wasn’t problematic since she kept vocally resisting by saying “no.”
She later apologized in a lengthy note on Twitter, admitting how she thought her jokes were “innocent” at the time. Now, she realizes these were “tainted with implicit bias.”
Being indirect
On the other hand, David Dobrik did not address the criticism directly.
He made a statement about attending BLM protests and received DM’s about supporting the historic movement.
“That’s when I realized, hoy s—, there’s people who are seriously looking up to me for things more than just something goofy,”
“I think for a while I was just kind of like, I’m the goofball, that’s what I am. But I think there’s parts of this where I need to be more serious, because I want to be a good role model for the people watching.”
The Youtuber also admits how he felt “ashamed and embarrassed” over some of his controversial past videos.
“I genuinely feel awful about it… And I’m going to do better actively, and I’m going to do that consistently, and you have my word for that and I promise that. And if I’m anything, I’m a man of my word.”
Dobrik, a social media powerhouse with millions of followers on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok, also issued an apology to those whom he offended by his insensitive skits:
“If there’s a kid who saw something from me that didn’t make them feel welcomed or just made them feel uncomfortable, then I’m sorry,”
“I did not ever mean to make anybody feel out of place. I genuinely just want to make you have a good time and I’m going to do that from here on out. I’m going to do a better job at it.”
