MrBeast hits back at publication for “systemic ableism” remark

YouTube star, content creator, and philanthropist Jimmy "MrBeast" hit back at an independent publication for accusing him of putting “systemic ableism" on display.

For those out of the loop, Jimmy became the subject of an elaborate online debate after he posted a video showing himself paying for the cataract operation of a thousand people in America. While the majority of the online community has reacted positively and regarded the video as a charitable move, some have been quite critical.

The publication in question decided to call out the creator, following in the footsteps of the detractors. Jimmy, however, clapped back and responded to the tweet. The 24-year-old stated:

"So you’d prefer we don’t help people get life changing surgery they want and they asked for?"

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What did the publication say about MrBeast?

Yesterday, February 11, the publication tweeted a link to their article on the content creator's video.

The website scrutinized MrBeast's recent charitable actions and accused him of promoting systemic ableism. They wrote:

"In the broadest lens, the biggest problem with wanting to “cure” blindness is that it reinforces a moral superiority of sorts by those without disabilities over those who are disabled."

Additionally, the website also called out Jimmy for not providing ample research on the backgrounds of the patients. They wrote:

"We know nothing of their visual acuities before the operation, nor do we know what the long-term prognosis is for their vision. That MrBeast proclaims to “cure” blindness is essentially baseless."

The writer argued that the idea behind the video was to make abled people feel good about themselves and promote a sense of insecurity in the disabled.

"It’s ultimately not meant for the disabled person. It’s for abled people to feel good about themselves and about disabled people striving to become more like them — more normal."

The writer concluded:

"Finding a cure for cancer or a cure for AIDS is one thing. Disabilities need no cure. What truly needs curing is society’s proclivity to view the disability community as little more than real-life characters from a Tod Browning film."

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What the internet said about the article and MrBeast's subsequent response

The Twitter post from the publication garnered a slew of comments. Here are some of them:

Jimmy's response also provoked many reactions.

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For those wondering, Jimmy's video has managed to get over 102 million views in less than a couple of weeks since being uploaded. Despite the criticism on Twitter, the reaction to the video remains largely positive.