A Maryland father, who runs a family YouTube channel called DaddyOFive, is on the receiving end of an online outcry from other parents. They say he's guilty of child abuse for pulling pranks on his kids, especially his son Cody.
DaddyOFive's real identity is Mike Martin from Damascus. He manages his YouTube channel, which has over 750,000 subscribers, along with his wife Heather Martin.
Fellow YouTuber Philip DeFranco was first to publicly call out the Martins for their video pranks, Heat Street reported. DeFranco said some of the family's clips showed their son Cody getting physically hurt or ridiculed.
One video had the parents telling the boy he will be placed on adoption. The Martin couple also pranked their other kids by destroying their favorite toys and possessions and placed the blame on Cody.
The latest prank involving invisible ink raked over 300,000 views, as per New York Post. Parents watched uncomfortably as Cody defended he didn't do anything while his parents badgered him. People called out the couple in the comments section of their social media channels for mentally torturing their son.
Parents also grew more upset when Mike declared those who criticized his family's prank videos will be blocked on their YouTube channel. He also called those voicing their outrage as his "haters," Daily Mirror reported. Heather also sided with her husband and said no one was being traumatized.
After defending their videos, however, Mike posted a series of messages on DaddyOFive's Twitter. He finally issued an apology and said his family will be reviewing the materials they will post moving forward.
— Daddyofive (@MikeMartin1982) April 18, 2017
It's unclear if Child Protective Services (CPS) did their investigation on the family and the child abuse claims. Mike also said that whatever they do now to appease the public won't matter. "I feel like no matter what I say people will change it," he said on Twitter.
