YouTube Prank Parents Apologize As Family Starts Counseling

DAMASCUS, MD — The now infamous Montgomery County family who drew millions of YouTube viewers for what they say were largely staged incidents of family strife and children crying has issued a new apology and say they have begun counseling. Mike and Heather Martin say they are not bad people, but are ashamed of how the world perceives the characters they portrayed and the show that they put on, even as the kids say they miss the videos.

Meanwhile, authorities in Frederick and Baltimore counties are investigating where the videos were filmed and if any crimes were committed. "This has been the worst week of our life and we realize we have made some terrible parenting decisions, and we just want to make this right," Heather said on April 22.

Mike added that they have stepped back from their characters to see how others have viewed their portrayals, and he agrees they did things they shouldn't have done. Counseling will help the five children see what their parents did that was wrong, and help them go back to school and normalcy, the couple said. Their apology video has more than 1.4 million views.

"We just kept going more and more for the shock factor versus reality to see what could get more views," Heather said.

Mike's DaddyOFive YouTube channel had millions of followers, and earned the family of seven some extra money, but it blew up earlier this month when he posted a video of a smiling Heather holding a bottle of invisible ink in front of the camera, planning to accuse her son, Cody, of ruining the carpet. Her husband joins in, yelling at the boy, asking him what he did. The couple repeatedly shouted and questioned their son, blaming him for an ink trail on the floor, while the boy replies, "I swear to God I didn't do that," as he cries.

The parents posted their stunt on YouTube, but internet viewers who watched the clip millions of times have bombarded the post with angry complaints. After the backlash and threats, the clip was taken down. One person wrote, "I hope the parents burn in hell," while another person wrote, "#childabuse."

You can see the controversial YouTube segment on WUSA.

The parents talked with Good Morning America for a segment on Friday, and Mike Martin told the news show that he understands the backlash that their videos generated. He said they have lost friends and family members over their videos, and "I've lost my own self-respect."

"I am completely broken," Mike told Good Morning America. "I did all this for my kids. I thought I was doing the right thing. Because of my poor decisions, now my family's suffering. I was able to do so many things for my family because of this YouTube channel. We were able to give the kids a college fund ... [But] I ended up destroying my family thinking that I was helping my family."

Initially Mike said that all the videos of his family life were fake. Heather added that they're scripted entertainment, comedy, with some of the bits stemming from their kids' ideas. The couple later said that they felt compelled to be more and more outrageous and profane to increase the number of YouTube viewers; the couple made money off their channel, which they said they spent on things their children needed.

Martin labeled the videos as fake and entertainment when posting to YouTube, but that didn't register with viewers. "I never really came out and say we were fake because I was scared to kill the YouTube channel. My kids love the YouTube channel and we love our fans," the dad said in a message.

His wife apologized for letting fans down and thanked them for support. The couple said they are under attack by the media and have received death threats since the controversy erupted.

"This has gone way to far over FAKE YouTube pranks. We are sorry and we will change our style but you are putting our family in real danger. You are putting the kids that you think you are helping in real danger," the parents wrote in the description of their video message.

After the prank went viral, the couple posted a YouTube video with their kids where the family joked about the prank and the outrage it spawned. It was titled BLOCKING ALL THE HATERS!, and one of the sons said the viewers who denounced the prank clip are jealous haters. A day later, the video was made private.

"To all you haters, you are the ones that give our children drama," says Heather. "You're the one that caused us problems, you're the one that tried to embarrass us and embarrass them."

As their parents talked to the camera, their five children piped up with how they have fun, they joked and they tussled over a bowl of candy. Popular music contains worse curse words than the parents used in the F-bomb-laced video of Cody and the stained carpet, the couple says.

An apology in a bid to end the controversy was also later taken down but said in part: "We deeply apologize for your feelings of concern. We do not condone child abuse in any way, shape or form. We are a loving close-knit family."

»Screenshot of Martin family from YouTube video