James Donaldson, better known by his internet alias MrBeast, is one of the most successful YouTubers of all time. However, reception to the internet personality has been waning due to controversies regarding his new show and connection to Ava Tyson.
MrBeast’s self-titled YouTube channel has more subscribers than any other account on the platform. Although his channel was initially a gaming channel, he soon switched directions when he realized weird stunt videos, like counting to 100,000 in 24 hours or trying to break glass using 100 megaphones, got significant attention. Over the years, as he gained more subscribers and resources, his videos have only grown in extravagance and outlandish tactics. Nowadays, most of his videos center around him giving away tens of thousands of dollars to winners of his over-the-top challenges or embarking on huge charity endeavors.
It’s often difficult to know what to think of his videos. Although many will assume, at first glance, that he’s a scammer faking his cash prizes and charity acts, they appear legitimate. Even so, he partakes in an odd kind of “generosity”—giving away money and committing charitable acts but always doing it for an audience and to generate more money for himself. Still, since MrBeast tends to pull off his wild stunts, they get views. Recently, though, it seems the creator finally bit off more than he can chew with his new Amazon show.
What’s going on with MrBeast’s new show?
MrBeast is teaming up with Prime Video to bring one of his biggest challenges yet to life. Amazon announced Beast Games was in development in March, revealing it would be the biggest reality competition show, boasting 1,000 contestants who would compete for $5 million. The show is offering the biggest cash prize in reality TV history. On top of that, MrBeast confirmed Amazon was giving him complete creative control so he could prove YouTubers “can succeed on other platforms.”
However, it seems MrBeast’s obsession with making everything as over-the-top as possible has backfired. A report from The New York Times claimed that contestants were mistreated while filming Beast Games. Participants were concerned when they arrived for the competition and were suddenly informed the show wouldn’t have 1,000 participants as previously announced, but 2,000. Meanwhile, there’s evidence that MrBeast and his film crew weren’t able to properly care for 2,000 people. In addition to participating in physically demanding and dangerous challenges, contestants claim they weren’t given adequate food or medical care.
Anonymous contestants explained that meals were “small and sporadic.” Some recalled going up to 20 hours before receiving minimal meals consisting of chocolate bars or a tiny portion of oatmeal, raw veggies, and a single egg. Some contestants who had alerted the crew to food allergies said they were served food they were allergic to. Contestants said they also struggled to receive medical care, with insulin treatments arriving late and contestants having to beg for food necessary to take their medications with. Production staff were supposed to hold onto contestants’ pre-packed bags of undergarments and deliver them when filming started, but many say they went days without their garments, and that women who were menstruating and begging for the bags were laughed at by the production staff. The challenges themselves also raised the fear of human crushes or tramplings due to the number of participants and lack of crowd control.
Via a spokesperson, MrBeast acknowledged some “logistical and communication issues” and that the show was receiving and considering participant feedback. Meanwhile, all of these complications arose just while filming the preliminary challenges. The actual main Beast Games will be held later in Toronto, though it remains to be seen if conditions will improve.
MrBeast’s past controversies continue receiving scrutiny
Reports of MrBeast’s disastrous TV show added to the current controversy already surrounding the creator over Ava Tyson. Tyson is MrBeast’s childhood friend who has contributed to his channel for years. Recently, allegations arose that Tyson groomed a minor, who goes by Lava online. The allegations arose over a Discord that Tyson and Lava were in. While Lava has denied that Tyson groomed him or did anything illegal, he has acknowledged that the messages she sent in the Discord were inappropriate. It appears that Tyson and several other adult users created an NSFW thread in a Discord channel that had minor moderators and users.
Tyson later confirmed she was stepping away from MrBeast’s channel and apologized for her behavior, although she also denied the grooming allegations. Soon, MrBeast addressed the situation, confirming she had been fully removed from his channel and that he was investigating the incident. However, many were dissatisfied with his statement, as unconfirmed allegations continued swirling that he knew of Tyson’s online behavior and may have even been a part of the Discord.
Meanwhile, the Tyson incident led some social media users to try to dig up further dirt on MrBeast. X users dug up several clips of Tyson’s early videos, in which he utilized racial and homophobic slurs and jokes. MrBeast’s spokesperson released a statement excusing the creator’s behavior because he was a “teenager” and because he allegedly learned from his mistakes. The statement read:
When Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny. 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.
It’s important to note that the video clips in question were from 2017, meaning MrBeast was about 18–19 years old at the time, which is a bit old to be still using the “dumb teenager” excuse. However, it does appear he has stopped using such language and jokes entirely in recent years.
While some of his controversies are in the past, and the Tyson allegations are quite convoluted, there are still lingering concerns about his new show and whether contestants will be safe when the second round of the competition begins.
Published: Aug 6, 2024 04:53 pm