Celebrities are prone to controversy and criticism, as their every move is analyzed under the public eye, but these days, it feels like they aren’t even trying anymore.
On June 13, user Prism42 launched a YouTube video accusing Ava Kris Tyson of inappropriately communicating with a minor years prior. Tyson is a longtime personality on the MrBeast channel and childhood friend of MrBeast founder and star, Jimmy Donaldson.
Prism42’s video itself did not garner a lot of views, but the information it contained spread online. Fast.
Despite this, it took Donaldson 41 days to publicly respond to the allegations against his friend. In the meantime, he took to Australia to launch his chocolate line, discussing how he’d run the nation if he were president and tweeted with Elon Musk.
When Donaldson finally made an announcement, he did something a little different from typical celebrity apologies: he hired an inside investigator.
Regardless, the screenshots of Tyson and the minor’s conversation were enough for Donaldson to remove her from any affiliation with the company, channel and himself. Donaldson hasn’t spoken out much more on the investigation, but the internet has more to say.
Another YouTuber, DogPack404 a.k.a. Dawson French, released a highly successful trilogy of videos describing shady dealings within the MrBeast company. These videos brought in far more views than Prism42, and appear to have tripped Donaldson’s trigger.
Reports of Donaldson retaining big-time civil lawyer Alex Spiro surfaced on Aug. 27. Spiro has historically worked for many people in the entertainment industry.
Most notably, he helped get 21 Savage released from federal custody and handled several legal issues regarding Jay-Z and RocNation. More recently, he had the charges against Alec Baldwin dropped and has helped Musk, X and Tesla with defamation lawsuits and security fraud issues.
Donaldson stepped in the ring ready to fight. So far, it’s only threats against French if he continues posting “unlawful” commentaries.
Larger than a cease-and-desist, though, is the PR disaster bubbling up for Donaldson. Why, instead of communicating with viewers about the situation, would he hire someone who is now known for helping the rich, like Musk, stay above the law.
Every public personality faces a degree of defamation, and how they react reveals what’s true. Tweeting that the claims are false is much more lowkey and believable than threatening to sue someone. It just makes you look guilty, especially when you go for a lawyer as notorious as Spiro.
It appears as if you’re trying to flex some muscle and get these issues brushed under the rug; however, it’s not that easy in 2024.
Again, be open and honest with your audience. Believe it or not, the best way to run a business is to leave your customers satisfied with and trusting of your product, not skeptical.
While no one does videos to the scale of MrBeast, there are thousands of other content creators for consumers to watch. There is no monopoly in content creation because literally everyone is different.
So, does MrBeast rig challenges and employ child predators? Well, Tyson worked there for 12 years, and French displays some compelling evidence of challenges being scripted, at least to a degree.
Though no one would be surprised if the videos are scripted, it’s mostly the creeps working on set that trigger alarm bells.
