"You would think I'm Hitler": MrBeast opens up about facing backlash for his philanthropic efforts

YouTube star Jimmy "MrBeast" has spoken out about facing backlash from the online communities for his philanthropic efforts. The Kansas native appeared as a guest on the most recent episode of The Diary Of A CEO podcast. At one point, host Steven Bartlett asked MrBeast if criticism from online communities about his content had ever affected him.

MrBeast responded by admitting that he has cried in the past after seeing that some of his videos did not perform as expected and reading what the audience had to say about it. He then described a time last year when the "rumor and drama mill spun up" and stated:

"There was, like, a month probably last year, where I felt a little bit of that just because, you know, sometimes, occasionally, the rumor and drama mill get spun up. But, just got to snap out of it and like I said, just go, 'Do I believe in what I'm doing?'"

The most subscribed YouTuber then discussed the backlash he received for his philanthropic efforts, stating that some people believe he has an "ulterior motive" behind his charitable endeavors.

Claiming that he has been "straightforward" with what he does, Jimmy stated:

"We're, like, conditioned in America now - when someone does something good, there's always some ulterior motive. And I've always been straightforward and just said, 'A world where I help people is just better than the world where I don't.'"

Furthermore, MrBeast commented on netizens' opinions on his charitable work of building wells in Africa and assisting blind people to see again, saying:

"Sometimes, you'd read, like, when I built wells in Africa or help blind people see or things like that, you'd see some of these things online, you would think I'm Hitler. I mean, it's crazy how people portray it. I don't know, I wish people just understand, like, in my opinion of a world where I help people is just more fun than a world where I don't. And, it's really not that deep."

Timestamp - 00:38:38

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MrBeast admits he gets affected by people believing that he is "evil"

During the same podcast, MrBeast admitted that he does get affected by people who believe he is "secretly evil" because of his charitable work. He elaborated:

"It's funny, the more good you do, the more people think you're secretly evil, and it's like, 'Why can't I just help people because it's fun?' You know? So, occasionally, those will get to me and I'll just be like, 'Guys, you don't even know me.'"

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Jimmy made headlines on February 17, 2025, when he responded to claims that he is "broke" after a photo of him flying in economy class went viral.