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Is “David After Dentist” Dad Exploiting His Kid?
David DeVore has extended his 15 minutes of fame to 13 months…and pocketed a boatload of cash. Remember him? Devore is the guy who recorded his seven-year-old son post-dental surgery, sparking a YouTube phenomenon.
Little David was just waking up from anesthesia and is…well, groggy is putting it mildly…the kid was trashed. Pop grabbed his Flip cam and recorded the patient’s drug-fueled musings, then posted it on YouTube so friends and family could share a laugh.
Clearly many people got the joke: the video went viral. Subsequent appearances on the “Tyra Banks” show and NBC’s “Today” sent viewings through the roof. Lucky for the DeVores, close to 54 million YouTube hits brings a pile of cash along with it. In addition to getting a piece of the YouTube revenue pie, the family has created a website devoted to selling “David After Dentist” t-shirts and stickers. Poppa DeVore was even asked to speak at South by Southwest, no doubt for a hefty fee.
Public reaction has been mixed. Some feel that he’s exploiting the kid–a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times went so far as to say that David Sr. should be jailed. Dad rebuts by claiming that the kid is comfortable with everything and besides, the money will help pay for his college tuition.
“As much as he can understand, we’ve included him in the decision process and there’s been nothing he didn’t want to do that we have been involved in. This fits David’s personality. If David’s personality and temperament were different, or if he had not liked that I had recorded [the video], then I wouldn’t have posted it.”
I don’t know. The “as much as he can understand” part of that quote makes me a tad queasy. I don’t think the parents should be jailed–that’s absurd. But it always makes me slightly uncomfortable when parents benefit financially from their kids. Kids should be kids–not profit centers.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the original video:
Read more here.
Image: davidafterdentist.com
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8 Comments
[...] the YouTube phenomenon. But it makes one wonder, has the family exploited their son? Our friends at Strollerderby certainly think so: Lucky for the DeVores, close to 54 million YouTube hits brings a pile of cash [...]
David After Dentist Exploited commented on Mar 22 10 at 2:01 pm[...] Carlos Whitaker because of what he’s hoping this viral video can do. Hot tip: he’s not looking to rake in piles of cash. No, Whitaker used his fifteen minutes of fame to tell CBS’s viewers that all the YouTube [...]
Your Son Can Be A Single Lady Too! | Strollerderby commented on Apr 06 10 at 10:16 am[...] of world, so maybe Hannah will watch this one day and laugh. And some videos that go viral, like David After Dentist, are cute. But this one just give me the [...]
Did YouTube Mom Go too Far? | Strollerderby commented on Apr 14 10 at 2:00 pm[...] she was thinking “David After Dentist,” the video of a seven-year-old still loopy from his trip to the dentist. Not everyone [...]
How You Tube Makes Folks With Sad Kids Rich | Strollerderby commented on Apr 19 10 at 12:31 pmSierra Black commented on Mar 18 10 at 6:56 pmThe thing that has always bothered me about this video is how clearly incapacitated the kid is. It’s also not very nice humor: we’re laughing at David, not with him.
I make money writing about my kids and the funny things they do, but I never encourage people to laugh at their fears, pains or illnesses.
LogicalMama commented on Mar 18 10 at 7:56 pmI’m really surprised they let him leave the office at this point. Clearly, he’s still very intoxicated. You would think for liability-sake, they’d want to observe him a little longer before letting him lose, even with a parent!
For all the youtube videos that have gone viral, this one impresses me the least, really! I haven’t heard of it until hereand am left wondering how this guy has milked even 5 minutes out of this, let alone 15!
LogicalMama commented on Mar 18 10 at 8:01 pmAlso, it’s noticeable that the boy isn’t really comfortable with the intoxicating effects of the meds but his dad is reinforcing that it “feels good!” I think this is one of the ways that we foster an early understanding that “getting wasted” is good, fun, funny and “feels good”
Edward commented on May 31 10 at 7:01 amThis dude is juicing the cow for every drop of milk it has, he has stretched his 5 minutes of fame into a buisness. On his site he said he’s made in the lower 6 digit profit, n yet he also said that only 7000 went to charitys. What happened to the rest?
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