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DaddyOFive

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Mike Martin
Personal information
Born
Michael Christopher Martin

1982 (age 35-36)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)YouTube personality, vlogger
WebsiteDaddyOFive YouTube channel
YouTube information
Years active2015–present
Genre(s)Vlog, "prank"
Subscribers718,000+
Total views5.9 million+
100,000 subscribers
Last updated: February 19, 2018

DaddyOFive is a YouTube channel and online alias of Michael Christopher "Mike" Martin (born 1982), 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] Created in 2015, the channel achieved success earning up to 176 million video views and around 750,000 subscribers. 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] In September 2017 Mike Martin took an Alford plea in regards to two counts per person of Maryland state child neglect charges and received supervised probation for five years.[4]

History

Creation of channel and rise in popularity

The channel was created on August 13, 2015;[5] the channel's about page says, "we as a FAMILY DECIDED to make this YouTube channel just for fun."[5] The channel focused on Mike Martin, his wife Heather and their five children: Jake, Ryan, Emma, Cody, and Alex.[3] 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.[7][8]

Controversy and public response

The family became the center of abuse claims following these prank videos which became gradually more extreme. YouTube personality Philip DeFranco released a series of videos covering the channel and sharing his distaste in the content they created.[3] He primarily focused on a video involving invisible ink being spilled, and two of the family's children, Cody and Alex, being accused of making the mess. In the video Cody cries and pleads hysterically after being screamed and sworn at and accused of lying, with Alex also facing a similar treatment from the parents.[2] DeFranco's first video covering the channel was uploaded on April 17, 2017,[9] and is credited by many news outlets for shining a light on the channel's extreme content.[7][10][8] Andrew Griffin of The Independent wrote, "[DeFranco's] video was viewed more than three million times and brought widespread condemnation of the DaddyOFive channel."[10] The video has led to debates about sharenting and children being minor celebrities on social media.[11] Two of the family's children, Cody and Emma, were removed from their custody and returned to their biological mother.[10] The creators also issued a public apology for the videos, and state they are "a loving, close-knit family."[2]

Post-controversy status and plea agreement

On July 7, 2017, the DaddyOFive channel released a video showing text expressing that it is not a dead channel and asking viewers to subscribe to Heather's MommyOFive channel for new videos and updates.[12] As of July 9, 2017, the DaddyOFive and MommyOFive channel have around 730,000 subscribers and 4.7 million video views, and around 110,000 subscribers and 2.1 million video views, respectively. Later, they changed their channel name to FamilyOFive after receiving the silver play button for Mommyofive.[5][13]

In August 2017, prosecutors from the Frederick County Circuit Court filed criminal charges against Michael and Heather Martin, with each person facing two counts of "neglect of a minor".[1] On September 11, 2017, the Martins pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea and were sentenced to five years of supervised probation.[4]

See also

  • Elsagate, a similar scandal which took place in the same year

References

  1. ^ a b Loos, Kelsi. "Ijamsville couple behind 'DaddyOFive' videos charged with neglect". The Frederick News Post. Retrieved 2017-08-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "YouTube pranksters Daddyofive deny child abuse claims". Newsbeat. BBC. April 18, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cresci, Elena (May 7, 2017). "Mean stream: how YouTube prank channel DaddyOFive enraged the internet". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Augenstein, Neal. "'DaddyOFive' parents found guilty of neglect, avoid jail". WTOP-FM. Retrieved September 11, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c "DaddyOFive — YouTube about page". YouTube. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ a b Gajanan, Mahita (May 3, 2017). "YouTube Star DaddyOFive Loses Custody of 2 Children Shown in 'Prank' Videos". Time. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ DeFranco, Philip (April 17, 2017). WOW... We Need To Talk About This... The Philip DeFranco Show. YouTube. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Abidin, Crystal; Leaver, Tamin. "When exploiting kids for cash goes wrong on YouTube: the lessons of DaddyOFive". The Conversation. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  12. ^ DaddyOFive channel UPDATE!!. DaddyOFive. YouTube. July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  13. ^ "MommyOFive — YouTube about page". YouTube. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
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