YouTube vlogger Craig Dillon pursues defamation action after rape allegation
Latest controversy to hit the YouTube community
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A popular video blogger who was accused of rape by a former boyfriend has used a YouTube video to deny the claims.
Craig Dillon, whose YouTube channel offering music and lifestyle tips reaches a teenage audience of one million, denied accusations of rape in a video posted by Tate Wolverson, another British vlogger, with whom he previously had a sexual relationship.
The controversy is the latest to hit the YouTube community, which has been shaken by allegations of sexual assault.
The claims concern Dillon, who has helped create social media campaigns and videos to promote concerts by acts including One Direction and Taylor Swift.
Wolverson, an aspiring actor and singer, released a video claiming he had been “a victim of sexual assault, rape, whatever you want to call it”. He described his shock and inability to speak about the alleged attack, which he claimed had occurred some weeks previously. Wolverson went on to name Dillon in a further video. Wolverson said he could not cope with the additional “pressure” of going to the police.
However Dillon denied the claims, tweeting: “I have never raped anyone. If you have truly been raped, please contact the police rather than posting a YouTube video about it.” In his own video, whi.ch he called “The Truth”, Dillon said the pair had consensual sex, which was “a mistake” since “we shouldn’t have rekindled what we had before”
Dillon said that any individual could post a video on YouTube saying they had been raped. “You don’t need any sort of evidence, any sort of trial to ruin that person.”
In his video, Wolverson posted text messages that he said he had received from Dillon, in which he asked not be named in Wolverson’s film.
Wolverson claims that he was pressured into sex with Dillon, despite saying no, after asking to come over because he needed a place to sleep.
A lawyer for Dillon said he was pursuing defamation action against a variety of “baseless” allegations made on social media about his client’s alleged sexual activities.
YouTube celebrities can earn a lot from pre-roll and banner advertisements around their videos, as well as from personal appearances.
But promising careers can be derailed. Sam Pepper, a YouTube star famed for his video pranks, provoked outrage after he used a false hand to pinch the bottoms of various unsuspecting women in Los Angeles.
Craig Dillon has denied the accusation of rape made by an ex-boyfriend