BY GEOFF WEISS
DaddyOFive is allegedly turning over a new leaf. The Martin family released another apology video over the weekend.
The YouTube family vlog and prank channel, helmed by Mike and Heather Martin of Damascus, Maryland, earned the ire of the internet for prank videos conducted upon their young children that many believe verged on abuse. While they previously apologized for the cruel videos and claimed that their pranks were faked, the latest clip sees them dressed in formal attire and appearing, at times, to read from a script.
“This has been the absolute worst week of our lives, and we realize that we have made some terrible parenting decisions,” Heater says of a vlog in which she and her husband screamed and cursed at young son Cody, and another clip in which Mike encouraged two of their young children to hit one another. (Their channel has since been wiped.) “We just want to make things right,” she adds.
Heather notes that, as a mother, if she had seen those kinds of things on YouTube without knowing the people involved, “I’d be thinking the same thing. I would be like, ‘Oh my God, those poor children.’”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoYTdYRPPpw
The Martins say that the temptation of YouTube fame and money compelled them to post more and more shocking content, and ultimately to lose sight of what was appropriate. The family is now in therapy in order to brave the media firestorm, Heather says, and also to help the kids understand their bad decisions.
Thank you for all your love and support, life coach this morning and family counselor this afternoon.
— Mike (@DeadBolt82) April 23, 2017
It remains to be seen, however, whether the Martins will continue to vlog. The apology has not gone over well with viewers thus far, with “dislikes” far outweighing “likes,” and many of the clip’s 807,000 viewers leaving a slew of negative comments.
Mike also thanked fans and updated them on the family’s therapy journey yesterday on Twitter.