YouTube star MrBeast has acknowledged that he used inappropriate language early in his online career.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been accused of making racist comments, while his long-time collaborator was alleged to have made inappropriate comments to minors.
The 26-year-old’s YouTube career is reportedly worth $700m (£545m), with his content mainly consisting of highly produced videos of lavish gifts and whimsical challenges.
His latest uploads are titled “Ages 1 – 100 Decide Who Wins $250,000” and “I Built 100 Houses And Gave Them Away!” which, like most of his videos, garnered more than 100 million views from his record 307 million YouTube subscribers.
Donaldson, from the US, has also tried to establish several businesses in recent years, including his snack brand Feastables, a branded burger chain with reviews bad enough that he sued the company behind it, and an Amazon Prime Video deal for a 1,000-contestant reality competition show.
Now, a spokesperson for Donaldson has acknowledged that he used “inappropriate language” earlier in his career.
A statement said: “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 apologised 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.”
Before his YouTube channel became popular, Donaldson had built a sizable following as a gaming content creator who sometimes interacted with viewers on live streams.
‘Racist comments and homophobic slurs’
In a 2017 clip circulated by YouTube influencer Rosanna Pansino in a 24 July post on X, Donaldson responded to a viewer who commented about selling black people for money with a racist slur and said that “the most I would pay is probably 300”.
Donaldson also used a homophobic slur at multiple points. After one commenter repeated a racial slur, Donaldson eventually instructed his audience to stop using that word in the chat.
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Pansino said that contrary to popular opinion, it’s “just not true” that Donaldson has always made “family-friendly content”.
“His first videos, where he was trying to be an edgy gamer and streamer, and he said horrible things and nasty things – I didn’t know that,” Pansino said. “I had no idea that history was there.”
In a separate clip from a May 2017 podcast appearance, Donaldson suggested he would have sex with the rapper Bhad Bhabie, whose real name is Danielle Bregoli and who was 14 years old at the time. The video has since been removed for “violating YouTube’s community guidelines”.
Allegations against long-time collaborator
Separately, allegations have been made that long-time MrBeast collaborator Ava Kris Tyson interacted inappropriately with minors online.
MrBeast and Ava Kris Tyson at Nickeodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards last year. Pic: Hubert Boesl/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Tyson’s past conversations with an underage teenage fan are under scrutiny, including public posts where the two discussed nude images and anime pornography.
The fan denied any exploitation in a 22 July post on X, describing such accusations as “massive lies and twisting the truth”.
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Tyson announced her departure from “all things MrBeast and social media” last week.
Donaldson posted on 24 July that he was “disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts” and is hiring independent investigators to look into the allegations.
Another former employee has also accused Donaldson of rigging the contests in his videos, running illegal lotteries, and deceiving his fans, but Donaldson has not publicly responded to these claims.