CHARI
The most popular individual YouTuber in the world has gained 138 million subscribers, delivered more than 23 billion video views and angered critics for his… philanthropy. MrBeast, who is Jimmy Donaldson in the real world, has been criticized in the past few months for major acts of charity that helped cure the blind and provide shoes for those who don’t have them.
MrBeast’s uniquely feel-good videos have long been an Internet staple and are almost impossible to do justice for how fun and silly they are. He tips service people thousands of dollars, opens a car lot and sells vehicles for $10 or $20, plays hide-and-seek with his friends for massive prizes, recreates Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and even introduces a Lamborghini to a hydraulic press. (Hint: It doesn’t go well for the Lamborghini, though it’s fun to watch.)
But it’s MrBeast’s charity efforts that have drawn the most criticism. He’s been called "demonic," the "antichrist" and a creator of "inspiration porn."
When you are as popular as MrBeast, pretty much everything you do can generate some degree of controversy. He raised hackles when he spent a reported $3.5 million recreating the "Squid Game" set, with a lot less killing. He was knocked, of course, for missing the point of the show and its criticism of how people are overwhelmed by debt. The video generated 388 million views, more than any other video he has done.
Current Affairs complained about his mixture of charity and "extreme public stunts," concluding, "MrBeast himself is also grotesque." "Look at all this wasteful, dumb, carbon-intensive bulls**t," whined the author.
Critics especially attacked MrBeast’s philanthropy. He did a video titled "1,000 Blind People See for the First Time," and was promptly bashed. One commenter called him the "antichrist" for helping heal people. NBC News called it a "charity stunt."
TechCrunch chimed in with the most-stupid take imaginable. "MrBeast’s blindness video puts systemic ableism on display." Yes, it’s so awful to cure people of blindness when they want to be cured.
TechCrunch contributor Steven Aquino went on to call it "inspiration porn" and claim that, "MrBeast (and his defenders) easily fall into the trap of perpetuating that deeply entrenched ableist mindset; as I wrote earlier, ableism is just as pervasive as racism and sexism."
The Buzzfeed hit job was headlined, "MrBeast Built A YouTube Empire On Being Mr. Nice Guy, But His Stunt Helping 1,000 Blind People Divided Viewers, Who Called It ‘Demonic.’" (Have to slip that "demonic" bit into the piece where you complain about getting extra "views.")
That article went on to call the video an "act of stunt philanthropy." Buzzfeed added, "Another huge problem: MrBeast's video seems to regard disability as something that needs to be solved." (As a life-time nearsighted person, I’d love for that problem to be ‘solved,’ but I don’t work for BuzzFeed. Thankfully.)
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For his part, MrBeast didn’t stop there. He had one patient read an on-screen "eye chart" that tells him, "You just won $10,000." Another patient said he missed driving. MrBeast gave him a Tesla.
The uncharitable criticisms continued with another MrBeast philanthropy video.
Earlier in March he posted a video entitled, "Giving 20,000 Shoes To Kids In Africa." He explained the problem: "For hundreds of thousands of kids in South Africa, the only thing standing between them and an education is a simple pair of shoes." So he set out to fix it.
You can’t have that. The Gamer blasted the effort because "the video heavily reinforces colonialist stereotypes about Africa being impoverished and backward," adding "it looks just like old-fashioned charity tourism from where I’m standing."
BuzzFeed said the donation "Has Started A Viral Discussion About ‘Poverty Porn.’" And some on social media accused MrBeast of profiting off of his charity. He shut down that claim fast, tweeting, "100% of all revenue from beast philanthropy goes towards running my food banks and helping ease human suffering."
MrBeast will inevitably have the last laugh over his critics and that might come soon. He was seen recently with another celebrity people love to hate – former NFL superstar quarterback Tom Brady. The combo of the top YouTuber and the greatest modern football star is sure to annoy someone.
Meanwhile, MrBeast spends his time entertaining and helping others. He says his goal is to "one day open hundreds of homeless shelters/food banks and give away all the money."
If that makes him popular, I’m all for it.
