As controversies and accusations swirl, YouTube’s biggest star, MrBeast, carries on (2024)

Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTube star better known as MrBeast, faced some of the most intense scrutiny of his career last week as numerous controversies surrounding his production blew up on social media.

The 26-year-old became the biggest YouTuber in the world through his unique videos featuring big stunts and even bigger giveaways on his channel, where he has 308 million subscribers. But he now finds himself at the center of mounting criticism on social media, citing speculation that he must’ve known about his former collaborator Ava Kris Tyson’s inappropriate messages to a minor as well as allegations that his new Amazon Prime Video show had unsafe working conditions and that he made racist and hom*ophobic comments in the past.

Donaldson said in a post on X that he didn’t know about Tyson’s messages. His spokesperson said Donaldson has apologized for his past comments. The team behind the reality series is also “currently reviewing” the on-set complications that occurred during the show’s shoot in Las Vegas in July.

The criticism does not seem to have swayed the creator, who has gained about 3 million subscribers since the incident involving Tyson incited backlash toward him in late July, according to social media analytics website Social Blade. His Amazon competition series, which the streaming giant reportedly paid him $100 million to make, is set to continue filming. Many major sponsors of MrBeast’s brand, including the video game Monster Hunter Now and Samsung, have not publicly issued any response to the recent backlash.

Representatives for YouTube and Amazon Prime Video did not respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Samsung, and Niantic and Capcom, the developers of Monster Hunter Now, also did not respond to requests for comment.

Large creators who often face widespread backlash, or “cancellation” as some fans put it, have historically been able to rebound from it. Donaldson continues to put out content and grow his brand despite the controversies.

“The thing about being a content creator, in general, is there’s really no mechanisms for accountability, even when you do get to be as big and famous as Mr. Beast,” said Jessica Maddox, an assistant professor of digital media technology at the University of Alabama. “In fact, I’d argue, actually, the bigger you get, the less mechanisms for accountability there are because platforms don’t want to necessarily ban you or block you because you’re one of the biggest sources of attention to their platform.”

The recent backlash began after Tyson stepped down from the MrBeast channel on July 23 after being accused of inappropriately interacting with a minor through public posts referencing nude photos, sex and hentai, which means anime p*rn. Some fans questioned if Donaldson was aware of Tyson’s behavior and allowed it to happen.

“Over the last few days, I’ve become aware of the serious allegations of Ava Tyson’s behavior online and I am disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts,” Donaldson posted on X on July 24.

Donaldson also said in the post that he hired “an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation” into her behavior. When asked if Donaldson had previously been aware of Tyson’s messages, a spokesperson referred NBC News to Donaldson’s X post.

In the following days, Donaldson was criticized over reports that contestants on his upcoming Amazon Prime Video reality show “Beast Games,” which began shooting in Las Vegas last month, were subjected to unsafe conditions.

“Beast Games” was ordered to series in March — it promised a winner a cash prize of $5 million, the “biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming,” according to a news release from Amazon MGM Studios. One thousand contestants are expected to compete, according to the release, which also described the show as “the biggest reality competition series ever.”

The series marks Donaldson’s first foray into the traditional media landscape. In the announcement from Amazon, Donaldson was praised by Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, for capturing “the attention and imagination of fans of all ages, from all walks of life, and all over the world.”

But behind the scenes, the high-stakes production appeared to encounter some setbacks.

Rosanna Pansino, a YouTuber who previously competed in Donaldson’s Creator Games series, made various X posts on July 26 claiming that contestants reached out to her toallege there were hospitalizations, sleep deprivation, lack of medication and lack of food on set.

Safety concerns were initially reported by the news outlet Vital Vegas on July 18. The New York Times, which interviewed a dozen anonymous contestants, reported on Aug. 2 that contestants sustained injuries and had inadequate access to food and medical care.

A spokesperson for Donaldson said in an email that the shoot “was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather, and other unexpected logistical and communications issues, which we are currently reviewing.” The spokesperson added that “virtually all” participants who were invited to proceed to the upcoming Toronto shoot “have enthusiastically accepted.”

“We have communicated directly with 97% of the 2,000 people who attended to ask for feedback, have launched a formal review of the process, and have taken steps to ensure that we learn from this experience and we are excited to welcome hundreds of men and women to the world’s largest game show in history,” the spokesperson said.

Amid the controversy around Tyson and “Beast Games,” Pansino had also called out Donaldson for an old clip that shows him discussing purchasing a Black person and using a hom*ophobic slur.

“When Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny,” a spokesperson for Donaldson said in a statement. “Over the years he has repeatedly apologized and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility to be more aware and more sensitive to the power of language. After making some bad jokes and other mistakes when he was younger, as an adult he has focused on engaging with the MrBeast community to work together on making a positive impact around the world.”

Pansino has been one of the few larger creators to publicly call out Donaldson.

In October, she claimed the creator edited her out of the top three finalists in his Creator Games series, which shows various social media personalities competing in games against each other. A spokesperson for Donaldson declined to comment on this claim.

In an interview, Pansino said that she felt that people were comfortable coming to her with complaints about Donaldson’s sets because she is “one of the only creators that has spoken up about Jimmy’s behavior off camera.”

“They know that they can come and talk to me and I’ll respect them,” said Pansino. “I think that’s why everyone’s reaching out, because I have been vocal and spoken up about my experiences, which is difficult, because he’s the most powerful creator in the world.”

Donaldson earned an estimated $82 million last year, according to Forbes, which named him the top creator of 2023. His channel has grown exponentially in recent years, and he has collaborated with numerous other creators, such as Kai Cenat, Logan Paul and Bella Poarch.

On Saturday, a day after The New York Times published an article on “Beast Games,” Donaldson posted a new video that has since received over 103 million views and was No. 1 on the YouTube trending page as of Tuesday morning. He has not publicly addressed any of the controversies in his content.

When a social media personality is accused of wrongdoing, the University of Alabama’s Maddox said accountability “really only comes from followers, from audiences, from people willing to step forward and make allegations like this.”

But many of Donaldson’s subscribers, many of whom are children, may not be aware of the criticisms against him. According to investment bank Piper Sandler’s semi-annual report on teen consumer trends, MrBeast was the top influencer among teenagers this spring.

Much of the discourse surrounding the flurry of controversies around MrBeast have remained largely online on X and Reddit, which are less popular among teens.

Maddox said that kids and their parents who engage with Donaldson on YouTube often are unaware of the discourse that unfolds on other platforms.

“That definitely impacts the accountability factor as well, because [the criticism] isn’t coming from that core group,” Maddox said. “There is less of an impetus or less of a need to address it. Because if people don’t know they can’t, they can’t have feelings about it.”