DaddyOFive
| Mike Martin | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | Michael Christopher Martin | ||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||
| Website | DaddyOFive YouTube channel | ||||||
| YouTube information | |||||||
| Years active | 2015–present | ||||||
| Genre(s) | Vlog, prank | ||||||
| Subscribers | 737,000+ | ||||||
| Total views | 4.7 million+ | ||||||
| |||||||
Last updated: July 9, 2017 | |||||||
DaddyOFive is a YouTube channel and online alias of Michael "Mike" Christopher Martin, which focused on daily vlogging and prank videos. The channel's videos featured Martin, his wife Heather Martin—also known by her online alias MommyOFive—and their children. In 2017, following claims that the parents were abusing their children in the prank videos, the channel became the center of a controversy, as many saw their content as extreme in nature.[2][3] The channel was created on August 13, 2015,[4] and achieved success. However, after the aforementioned controversy, all videos on the channel were removed, and the Martins stopped producing videos on the channel, aside from a formal public apology video.[3]
History
Creation of channel and rise in popularity
Initially the channel had been created by the family, in order to share what they thought was their crazy lives.[4] The channel focused on the Mike Martin, his wife Heather and their five children,[3] and the channel's success was mainly accredited to the pranks on family members, with pranks ranging from smashing the children's games consoles to putting the children up for adoption.[5] The channel accumulated around 750,000 subscribers and 176 million views, prior to Martin removing the videos from public viewing.[3] The Guardian and New York Magazine reported the videos were made private,[3][6] while Time and The Washington Post reported that the videos were deleted.[1][7]
Controversy and public response
However the family became the center of abuse claims following these prank videos which became gradually more extreme, with YouTube personality Philip DeFranco releasing producing a series of videos covering the channel and sharing his distaste in the content they created,[3] where he focuses on a video involving ink being spilled, and one of the family's children being accused of making the mess.[2] DeFranco's first video covering the channel was uploaded on April 17, 2017,[8] and is credited by many news outlets for shining a light on the channel's perceived extreme content.[1][9][7] Andrew Griffin of The Independent wrote, "[DeFranco's] video was viewed more than three million times and brought widespread condemnation of the DaddyOFive channel."[9]
Since then it has been reported that two of the children have been removed from the parents custody following the prank videos,[9] and the creators have also issued a public apology for the videos, and state they are "...a loving, close-knit family."[2]
References
- ^ a b c Gajanan, Mahita (May 3, 2017). "YouTube Star DaddyOFive Loses Custody of 2 Children Shown in 'Prank' Videos". Time. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ a b c "YouTube pranksters Daddyofive deny child abuse claims - BBC Newsbeat". BBC Newsbeat. 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
- ^ a b c d e f Cresci, Elena (2017-05-07). "Mean stream: how YouTube prank channel DaddyOFive enraged the internet". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
- ^ a b "DaddyOFive". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
- ^ "Mom who won custody of 'abused' DaddyoFive children speaks out". Mail Online. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
- ^ Dunphy, Rachel (April 28, 2017). "The Abusive 'Pranks' of YouTube Family Vloggers". Select All. New York Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Ohlheiser, Abby (April 26, 2017). "The saga of a YouTube family who pulled disturbing pranks on their own kids". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ DeFranco, Philip (April 17, 2017). WOW... We Need To Talk About This... The Philip DeFranco Show. YouTube. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ a b c Griffin, Andrew (May 2, 2017). "YouTube star Daddyofive loses custody of two children featured in 'prank' video, mother says". The Independent. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
External links
- DaddyOFive on Youtube
- DaddyOFive on Twitter