Why does MrBeast receive flak for his charitable endeavors? Analysing YouTuber's biggest philanthropic controversies

Regardless of what Jimmy "MrBeast" tries to do when it comes to charitable and philanthropic endeavors, the internet will simply not stop criticizing it. It’s either never enough, or it’s a terrible thing that he’s done. While not everybody hates the successful YouTuber, anytime he offers to do something huge for people in need, there will be commenters from YouTube to Twitter that have something negative to say.

Now, this isn’t to say the criticism isn’t without merit, but not all of it has a point. There are many on the internet, for example, who feel MrBeast takes advantage of the poor and farms them for YouTube views and, ultimately, for profit.

Though the content creator continues to funnel that money into charitable deeds, it’s clear that many on social media aren’t a fan.

We’re going to look at some of the criticism the streamer has received for a few of his biggest philanthropic controversies and see if there’s merit in it.

---

MrBeast helps 1,000 blind people see and 1,000 deaf people hear

These two moments are perhaps among the things MrBeast has been most criticized for in 2023. Two of his big philanthropic endeavors this year were to bring sight to blind people and hearing to those who are deaf.

In the first instance, MrBeast provided phacoemulsification surgery for 1,000 people, which vacuums a cataract out of the eye, allowing eyesight. It also requires an artificial lens to help with eyesight.

That said, alongside this, he would also give many of the people gifts, from money to cars, to get them going again.

Some have very strong opinions about MrBeast (Image via Twitter)

In the video where he brought sight to people who were blind around the world, he was allegedly called the "literal antichr**t" by someone on social media. Not because of what he did but this person claimed his generosity was fake and was trying to make people love him for it through false miracles.

That said, this particular criticism doesn’t have much in the way of merit. It only highlights one person’s alleged beliefs and pushes a religious focus when the whole purpose of the video was simply to help people and had nothing to do with any one person’s faith.

One content creator, Hasan "HasanAbi" was "filled with rage" seeing the video of bringing sight to people in need, though not for the reason one might think. His problem is that it’s a 10-minute procedure, and it’s being gatekept/paywalled to such an extent that some people simply cannot receive this life-changing surgery.

Then, MrBeast comes along and makes content out of it. The streamer’s complaint was more of an indictment of America’s healthcare system - some people can only get help if a streamer pays for it.

When it came to MrBeast’s video of giving hearing to 1,000 people who had gone deaf/were born deaf, several on social media allegedly called the content creator "demonic," while others were scornful of how he "does good for people."

While many were appreciative of his charitable deeds, others with larger platforms would speak out against it.

In particular, Twitch streamer Quin69 claimed the video "ruined his f**king brain," as seen in the clip below.

The streamer complained about how the video went from giving people who were deaf the ability to hear to also giving them money. While he did say that what MrBeast was doing was good, he also stated the extra stuff, like basketball game tickets and money, was just to sugarcoat things and help create views on Jimmy’s videos.

There is perhaps something to what the streamer says in that the videos do wind up creating a great deal of engagement and, ultimately, more money for MrBeast. However, the streamer clearly funnels that funding into more contests, giveaways, and charitable deeds for those who are in need.

---

MrBeast receives backlash and criticism for giving away 20,000 pairs of shoes to African children

Another of MrBeast’s philanthropic deeds was done in concert with a Johannesburg non-profit organization, Barefoot No More. They helped him reach out to South African schools and ultimately gave away 20,000 pairs of shoes to children who were walking barefoot across rocks, dirt, and broken glass to get to school.

Some Twitter commenters repeatedly suggested that buying shoes was barely putting in effort to help (Image via Twitter)

In this instance, people allegedly complained that the YouTuber wasn’t doing enough and that giving these children shoes did nothing to help. Some would accuse him of profiting off of the misery of others in cases like this.

Other Twitter users feel that this isn't truly charity or philanthropy (Image via Twitter)

Some would refuse to call it philanthropy since he’s making money off the endeavor. However, MrBeast has repeatedly stated that the money made from situations such as this goes back into things like food pantries and other charitable situations around the world.

---

Is the backlash that MrBeast receives for his videos unwarranted? It’s hard to say one way or another. Many view it as a way to make money by profiting off of people who can’t afford things for themselves or that it’s not really a good deed if you have to make a video showing it off.

That said, it’s clear that the content creator continues to give his money away to help the less fortunate all around the world, and he has a huge fanbase that appreciates his endeavors.