{"id":995783,"date":"2026-01-08T14:43:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=462862"},"modified":"2026-01-08T14:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:43:24","slug":"mrbeast-cant-shake-his-controversies-and-its-costing-him-his-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/mrbeast-cant-shake-his-controversies-and-its-costing-him-his-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"MrBeast can\u2019t shake his controversies \u2014 and it\u2019s costing him his fans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jimmy \u201cMrBeast\u201d Donaldson has been the de facto face of YouTube for years \u2014 but even so, 2024 was poised to propel his career into a new stratosphere of stardom. This year, Donaldson\u2019s channel became the biggest on the popular video platform<\/a>, an achievement earned just months after a video of his broke the record<\/a> for most views in 24 hours. The 26-year-old influencer also finalized a massive deal with Amazon<\/a> to produce the biggest reality TV competition in history, an event called Beast Games<\/em> that would pit 1,000 contestants against each other for a chance to win $5 million. The YouTuber even partnered with Target to launch a new toy line<\/a>. Now, as we approach the end of 2024, things have taken a massive turn. <\/p>\n

Scandals<\/a> are piling up. Reputations are being torched<\/a>. Views are tanking. MrBeast\u2019s last couple of uploads are still reaching around 100 million eyeballs, yes, but compare that to view counts from 2023 that often reached well above 250 million. What seemed like the steady continuation of a world takeover that could, according to Donaldson himself<\/a>, culminate in an eventual presidential bid is now shifting to an existential crisis that has left fans of the YouTube titan\u2019s videos doubting their loyalties. <\/p>\n

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the comments on Donaldson\u2019s YouTube posts \u2014 the part of his channel where he can speak to his fans directly, without posting new footage. Unlike the replies to his actual videos, these comments appear to be unmoderated \u2014 and they\u2019re not pretty. Many of the top comments voice complaints by fusing multiple words together, like \u201cJimmyisjustdoingeverythingexceptaddresstheallegations\u201d and \u201cAdressTheAllegationsJimmyWeAreTired.\u201d Some fans engage with the content of these posts, one of which sees Donaldson celebrating a subscriber milestone two months ago \u2014 but even these replies are ominous. \u201cWhat Goes Up Gotta Come Down,\u201d says one top-voted comment. \u201cThe last milestone mrbeast will reach,\u201d another quips.   <\/p>\n

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The wave of fan dissatisfaction began taking root this summer. First, there was an onslaught of allegations and concerns surrounding Donaldson\u2019s longtime collaborator and friend Ava Tyson<\/a>, who was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a fan, who was a minor, eight years ago. Tyson departed from MrBeast\u2019s company with an apology \u2014 but the incident lit a fuse. Internet sleuths then unearthed more questionable ties to Donaldson and the MrBeast brand \u2014 including a sex offender being employed by the company and accusations of sexual assault within the company, brought to light by YouTuber Dogpack404, who used to work for Donaldson. Dogpack404 has since been threatened with legal action by Donaldson\u2019s lawyers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Donaldson broadcasts a highly PG aura now, his debut on YouTube back in 2012 was marked by a period of edgelord humor<\/a> characteristic of teen boys who grow up on the internet. As such, recent accusations that Donaldson maintains a \u201cboys\u2019 club\u201d that could, in theory, make misconduct permissible has become believable to people online. It doesn\u2019t help that some of Donaldson\u2019s associations are far from public darlings. He seems to be a fan of<\/a> controversial billionaire<\/a> Peter Thiel<\/a>, at one point recommending a book written by the tech mogul that has been described by a Thiel biographer to \u201cborder on fascism.\u201d<\/a> Thiel also reportedly funded a startup<\/a> that then received millions of dollars as part of a charity campaign held by Donaldson in 2022. <\/p>\n

Donaldson\u2019s more outwardly controversial professional association is Logan Paul, another numbers-driven YouTube personality that is no stranger to scandal<\/a>. Paul\u2019s friendship with Donaldson has been front and center for some time now, as evidenced by the blond boxer\u2019s appearance in MrBeast videos<\/a> and Donaldson\u2019s participation in Paul\u2019s podcast. Now, the two are teaming up to sell Lunchly, a Lunchables competitor that comes packaged with Prime, Paul\u2019s line of energy drinks, and Feastables, Donaldson\u2019s line of chocolate bars. The September announcement has been received poorly by people online, especially as the two personalities have repeatedly tried to position Lunchly as a healthier lunch option. But Paul\u2019s energy drink, which is marketed toward children, is contentious enough that a senator has called for an investigation of its high caffeine levels<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In the past, Donaldson has claimed that the videos on his main channel are so costly to produce, he needs side ventures to help fund them. The videos themselves make money from advertisers and YouTube, but their profit potential is limited compared to items you can purchase multiple times, like Feastables and Lunchly. Despite being one of the highest-paid personalities<\/a> on the platform, Donaldson has, up until now, managed to avoid a greedy reputation. Donaldson has made a concerted effort to highlight his generosity with his earnings, often reminding people that he invests nearly everything he makes right back into his videos. Three years ago, Donaldson revealed he spent $48 million a year on his productions, a number that\u2019s likely gone up as his videos have gotten progressively more ambitious in scope. Donaldson has gone from uploading videos of himself counting to a high number<\/a> to funding productions where he blows up houses<\/a> and makes trains crash into giant pits<\/a>. \u201cI made money, I spend money,\u201d Donaldson says in a video breaking down how he invests his profits<\/a>. The pitch of Lunchly as a healthier alternative to Lunchables \u2014 which have come under scrutiny recently for containing harmful chemicals<\/a> \u2014 seems right in line with Donaldson\u2019s pitch as a noble do-gooder. If Lunchly is indeed healthier, it could also see the company land a government contract in the future.<\/p>\n

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As lawsuits focused on working conditions, dangerous situations, and sexual harassment during the making of his upcoming Amazon game show continue to mount<\/a>, Donaldson\u2019s ability to present his work as being for a greater good may be weakening. Donaldson\u2019s last two uploads have accrued 83 million and 113 million views as of this writing, which may sound impressive until you consider this is less than half of what he was reaching a few years ago. Aside from the occasional fluke, Donaldson\u2019s viewership hasn\u2019t stooped this low in four years. Moreover, the controversies are prompting fans to reconsider what Donaldson stands for and how those values may have led to this point.<\/p>\n

In the past, the YouTuber has spoken at length about his incessant drive to make impressive videos, regardless of cost or time. For the most part, his ambition has been received as a positive reflection of Donaldson\u2019s edge. The grind becomes virtue. But Donaldson\u2019s drive has started to take on a more ominous air. Did Amazon\u2019s Beast Games<\/em> turn out the way it did because of its unrealistic ambition? Donaldson\u2019s willingness to do anything for the sake of views seems less admirable when it becomes apparent that he expects everyone around him to do the same. <\/p>\n

In a leaked memo verified by Business Insider<\/a>, Donaldson repeatedly tells staffers that they should never take \u201cno\u201d for an answer when it comes to filming a video, regardless of the reason. If a worker at a big-box store tells a MrBeast employee they can\u2019t film there, for example, the document suggests finding someone else who will give the green light instead. Whether or not finding a workaround to potential production issues might land someone in trouble is immaterial, the document suggests. In fact, workers themselves should think twice before telling Donaldson that something isn\u2019t possible. Anyone who thinks otherwise, the document says, may not be cut out to work with Donaldson. Meanwhile, Beast Industries, the larger company that oversees Donaldson\u2019s various business ventures, hired a chief operating officer this summer who has been cited in a Bloomberg report<\/a> that claims his previous company held a \u201cculture of recklessness\u201d that was full of \u201cmacho belligerence.\u201d <\/p>\n

As Donaldson pushes forward with new announcements and videos, the allegations have already impacted the YouTuber\u2019s business. A six-figure Feastables sponsorship deal<\/a> with a Twitch streamer was dropped in light of the scandals. Internally, Donaldson seems to be conducting triage via internal restructuring. In a leaked email verified by AP<\/a>, Donaldson says that he is hiring a firm to investigate existing allegations, starting workplace training for employees, and creating a means for workers to report their concerns to the company. These are mechanisms and structures adopted by many companies, but they also mark a departure from Donaldson\u2019s looser approach to running a business. Up until August, per a report by Time<\/a>, Donaldson\u2019s mother was considered the entire HR department.<\/p>\n

But it may be too late to contain the turmoil within the fandom, which is critical to Donaldson\u2019s entire business model. Comments on the videos posted since these scandals became public appear stilted: In one recent upload, despite having nearly 100,000 comments, not a single one of these comments appears to have a reply from other commenters. Most of the top replies repeat the same thing, \u201cRonaldo is coming,\u201d in reference to the soccer star\u2019s growing YouTube channel. It goes beyond the videos themselves. On Reddit, MrBeast\u2019s forum, with 1.5 million members, asks people to request permission to post anything. \u201cWhy not just private the subreddit if you’re going to keep it locked down,\u201d reads the top reply to a post on a recent video<\/a>. \u201cThis is what happens when a company runs their own sub,\u201d declares a comment further down the thread.<\/p>\n

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