MrBeast is no stranger to controversy this year – and has managed to come out unscathed each time.
In July, the 26-year-old American said he had hired investigators after his former co-host Ava Kris Tyson was accused of grooming a teenager.
Ava denied the allegations, but has apologised for “past behaviour” which was “not acceptable”.
MrBeast said he was “disgusted” by the “serious allegations”.
Later, further allegations about business practices surfaced on an anonymous YouTube channel, claiming to be a former employee. The BBC has not been able to independently verify the claims or this person’s identity.
Some of his philanthropic efforts – such as building wells in Africa, and paying for surgery for people with reduced sight and hearing – have drawn criticisms around exploitation.
“Deaf people like me deserve better than MrBeast’s latest piece of inspiration porn,” one person told the Independent last year, external.
But his empire continues to grow. The day before the lawsuit emerged on Wednesday, he revealed a team-up with fellow famous faces KSI and Logan Paul – a new food line designed to challenge Lunchables.
And as I wrote in an article about his meteoric rise last year, he has made his millions through hard work.
His videos are big budget experiences, with his most popular – viewed 652 million times – recreating the Netflix hit Squid Game in real life, external with a $456,000 (£342,000) prize.
Most of his philanthropy is less controversial – including giving away houses, cash and cars – which has worked to create an image of him being one of the internet’s good guys.
According to his website, he has delivered more than 25 million meals to the needy around the world.
People continue to flock to his social channels. In June, he gained enough subscribers to make his YouTube channel the largest in the world.
According to stats-checker Socialblade, external, MrBeast picked up an extra five million subscribers in the last 30 days alone.
That’s just one metric – we can’t tell how many people unsubscribed from his channel, for example.
What is certain is that the number of people who’ve actively decided to stop watching his videos has been eclipsed by those who’ve decided to subscribe.
source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgn8d04kdko
