David Dobrik said he was 'ashamed and embarrassed' about clips that resurfaced of his racially insensitive jokes
- David Dobrik made a blanket apology for insensitive past jokes on his podcast "VIEWS with David Dobrik and Jason Nash," right in the middle of "Karmageddon."
- Several clips of Dobrik have resurfaced on social media of his old videos, where he used the N-word.
- He also received criticism for an old video with his ex-girlfriend Liza Koshy where they rated Japanese candy and mocked Asian accents.
- Dobrik said in his over 700 videos his intention is always to make people laugh, and sometimes he has fallen short.
- He said if anyone has been offended by his content, or he made them feel uncomfortable, he is sorry.
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David Dobrik has finally apologized after days of silence on social media following criticism for some of his old videos. Clips have resurfaced of Dobrik using the N-word and being racially insensitive towards Black people.
At the beginning of the latest episode of Dobrik's podcast "VIEWS with David Dobrik and Jason Nash," he spoke for over two minutes about the Black Lives Matter movement and his past.
He said in the 700 videos he and Nash have made together, his intention has always been to make people laugh.
"I want them to have a positive experience when they interact with anything I produce," he said. "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."
Y’ALL ROCKING WITH WHITE CREATORS SAYING THE N WORD & DOING BLACK FACE OR NAH? ????♂️ comment below ???????????? #vlogsquad #daviddobrik pic.twitter.com/US2egi1qDm
— SETH (@s3thfrancois) June 27, 2020
Dobrik also received backlash for an old video he and his ex-girlfriend Liza Koshy filmed in 2016, where they tried Japanese candy and mocked Asian accents.
"It's not racist, that's like the sounds I hear when they talk," Dobrik said in the video, while Koshy said it wasn't problematic as long as she kept vocally resisting by "saying no."
A TikTok user called it a "clear example of the normalized racism against Asians."
@callmesukiwi Why is no one talking about this? It’s a clear example of the normalized racism against Asians @daviddobrik @lizzza ##fyp ##asian
♬ original sound - callmesukiwi
Koshy apologized in a lengthy statement on Twitter, where she said she never had any intention to be racist, and was sorry for any hurt she caused. She said she thought her jokes were "innocent" at the time, but now realizes they are "tainted with implicit bias."
"What might have been intended as 'playful' was actually to some, incredibly painful," she said. "And for that, I am so sorry."
— Liza Koshy (@lizakoshy) June 29, 2020
Dobrik did not address the specific criticism directly. Rather, he started by making a statement about attending the Black Lives Matter protests and what it was like to receive DMs about supporting the 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," he said. "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."
He said he was "ashamed and embarrassed" by some of his past videos and Vines that have resurfaced.
"I genuinely feel awful about it," he said. "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."
He also said if anyone watching was offended, he was sorry.
"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," he said. "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."
In the first time he’s addressed old problematic videos and jokes that have resurfaced recently, David Dobrik started his latest podcast with a ~vague~ apology pic.twitter.com/TYbK2rsmIK
— Lindsay Dodgson (@linzasaur) July 1, 2020
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