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In 2024, Jimmy "MrBeast" faced several controversies, the most significant being allegations against Ava Kris Tyson, a former collaborator accused of inappropriate interactions with minors. MrBeast quickly distanced himself from Tyson and initiated an internal investigation. Other than this, allegations of employee mistreatment, and scripted videos were also shed against him.
The YouTuber has built his brand on extravagant and sometimes controversial challenges, with some of his videos sparking significant public debate. Here are five of the most controversial MrBeast challenges to date.
NOTE: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinion.
1) Recreating "Squid Game"
In November 2021, MrBeast recreated the hit Netflix series Squid Game, with contestants competing for a cash prize in a real-life version of the show's deadly challenges. While the video was immensely popular, amassing over half a billion views, it was criticized for allegedly missing the point of the original show.
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Users on X, like @Syntaximu, echoed this sentiment and stated:
"It's really like you haven't even seen the show or got the point of it".
@backflipsimmons suggested that the video was hypocritical:
"Just flaunting some casual wealth disparity. In a mock recreation of a show about flaunting wealth disparity".
Others, like u/mydeardream on Reddit, said the video may be considered distasteful:
"I think it's silly at best and in poor taste at worst. Innany case, it's kind of ignorant to what the show is".
Many felt that Squid Game was a critique of wealth inequality, but MrBeast's version seemed to glorify the pursuit of money.
2) The Beast Games controversy
Beast Games is an Amazon Prime reality show created by MrBeast, where contestants will face intense physical and mental challenges to compete for large cash prizes.
Beast Games became shrouded in controversy and involved accusations that contestants were misled about the nature of the competition. Many claimed they were unaware of the grueling physical challenges and conditions they would face during filming. The event, held at Allegiant Stadium in Nevada, was meant to select finalists for the next phase in Toronto.
YouTuber Rosanna Pansino has been active in discussing all the controversy surrounding the Beast Games, voicing the issues of participants who had complaints against the show. Issues range from unsafe filming conditions to poor participant treatment, and Rosanna encapsulates all the issues in a series of videos.
While some participants were injured and left on stretchers, no severe injuries were officially confirmed. Despite the issues, contestants who made it through the preliminary rounds are still moving forward with the competition.
3) "100 Boys Vs 100 Girls For $500,000" - Example of an allegedly fake MrBeast challenge
YouTuber Dawson "DogPack404" released a series of videos throwing allegations against MrBeast. These allegations included claims of fraudulent videos and even registered sex offenders being hired onto the MrBeast channel.
In a video titled I Worked For MrBeast, He's A Fraud, Dawson accused Jimmy of faking his videos, and he made an example out of Jimmy's 100 Boys Vs 100 Girls For $500,000 video:
"I mean, it's not like he's ever rigged the results of a challenge. That would be impossible because he films with hundreds of random subscribers, right? Wrong! Let's look at [the 100 Boys Vs 100 Girls For $500,000] video". (Timestamp - 9:00)
DogPack then proceeded to claim that the video was scripted:
"Not only were the results of the video completely scripted, but the contestants are not random subscribers". (Timestamp - 9:12)
The YouTuber went on to show that many of the "participants" in the video were actually employees of MrBeast himself.
4) The unreleased solitary confinement challenge
Jake Weddle is a former MrBeast employee who worked as a writer/director and even made appearances in a few videos.
He left the channel in 2020, and in 2024, during an interview with DogPack404, he claimed an unreleased "solitary confinement" video caused him physical and mental distress.
In the video, Jake spoke about how he felt pressured to comply with what MrBeast wanted for the video.
"There was an element of 'Oh, Jake will do what we want 'cause he's in-house." That's one of the reasons why they got me. 'He's an inside guy, so he'll do whatever...'We can push him a little extra hard'... I couldn't say no to the treadmill thing". (Timestamp - 25:25)
Jimmy had challenged Weddle to run a marathon on a treadmill. Jake then spoke on how the challenge injured him physically since he was running for so long without a break:
"And so I start running at 12. I was able to take some breaks. I asked him 'How long do I have?' He goes 'Until I get back'. And I'm running until 3 AM. I got off the treadmill... Oh, the blisters I had on my feet were like - you wouldn't believe. Just all over" (Timestamp - 26:28)
5) "I Spent 24 Hours Straight In Insane Asylum" - MrBeast features a 'registered' sex offender in a challenge
MrBeast was also alleged to have recruited a registered sex offender onto his team. This is concerning because the YouTuber's videos are primarily targeted at a younger audience. The offender, whose alias is 'Delaware', has made appearances in multiple challenges on the channel.
One instance was in the I Spent 24 Hours Straight In Insane Asylum where Delaware was a participant.
Delaware is a nickname, and Jake Weddle elaborated on this in the interview with DogPack:
"When I was there, they called him Delaware. It's like 'Well why do you call him Delaware?' I didn't know, apparently, they called him Delaware 'cause he's not allowed to go back to Delaware. That's his nickname?!"
In the challenge, MrBeast was clearly aware of the nickname and was seen using it multiple times throughout the video.
