The YouTube channel "Daddy05" was created by parents Mike and Heather in 2015 to prank their five children for views. The channel gained popularity, and the parents began to exploit the intense reactions of their children for more views. However, this led to backlash from the public and other YouTubers, who criticized the parents for their treatment of their children.
The controversy escalated when the parents uploaded a video titled "Invisible Ink Prank Epic Freakout," in which they pranked their children by pouring invisible ink on the carpet. The video received widespread backlash, leading to a significant drop in the channel's like ratio. The parents responded by uploading an apology video and stating that they were in family counseling.
Despite these efforts, the controversy continued, and the parents were investigated by child protective services. The biological mother of two of the children claimed emergency custody over them. In 2017, the parents were sentenced to five years probation for two counts of child neglect. The family was then forced to close their YouTube channel and launch their own website, which they later wiped clean.
In 2019, the family returned to YouTube under a new name, "Martin Family," but the damage to their reputation was significant and has never been fully repaired.
1. The YouTube channel "Daddy05" was created by parents Mike and Heather on August 13, 2015, with the goal of pranking their five children for views.
2. The channel was initially fun and harmless, with pranks such as Mike trying to scare his daughter with a hockey mask.
3. As the channel gained subscribers, the pranks became more intense, with Mike encouraging his kids to get whoever they were pranking as angry as possible.
4. The channel faced backlash from the public, with Reddit users expressing concerns about the treatment of the children.
5. The parents' treatment of their children, particularly their son Cody, who has oppositional defiant disorder, was a major point of contention.
6. The channel faced a significant backlash after a video titled "Invisible Ink Prank Epic Freakout" went viral, with many viewers accusing the parents of abuse.
7. The parents uploaded an apology video after the backlash, stating that they were in family counseling and had made some terrible parenting decisions.
8. The Baltimore County Police Department and the courts were investigating the family, and the biological mother of both Cody and Emma claimed emergency custody of the children.
9. The YouTube channel "Daddy05" was permanently terminated in July 2018, and the family launched their own website to post vlogs.
10. The family removed all videos from their website in order to move on with the healing process from the 2017 events.
11. The family returned to YouTube under the name "Martin Family" in 2019, and the channel is still active up until this day.