Recently, the most-subscribed individual on YouTube, MrBeast went viral after helping 1,000 blind people see for the first time. It drew mixed reactions with people calling it "charity porn."
The YouTuber, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been praised for being one of the unproblematic celebrities in the platform's controversy-ridden community. But recently, fans can't help but question his acts of kindness — is it charity or clout?
Here's a closer look at MrBeast's ascent to fame.
How Did MrBeast Get Famous?
According to Business Insider, it was philanthropic content that boosted MrBeast's channel. Before that, he would publish videos featuring "challenging feats like reading every word in the dictionary or counting from 0 to 100,000 for 40 straight hours," said the outlet. The 24-year-old content creator started posting on the platform at the age of 13.
However, it took a lot of phases before his channel finally took off. He used to make funny compilations of Minecraft and Call of Duty gameplays, estimate YouTubers' net worths, give advice to fellow creators, and even dish on other YouTubers' drama.
He started to attract more viewers in 2015 when he started a "'worst intros' series of videos, which rounded up and poked fun at YouTuber introductions he discovered on the platform," wrote Insider. A year later, he enrolled in college but soon dropped out. Two weeks before that, he texted his mom: "I'd rather be poor than do anything besides YouTube." As a result, his mom made him to move out of their home in North Carolina because "she loves me and just wanted me to be successful," he later said.
In 2017, he went viral after uploading a video of himself counting to 100,000 for 44 hours. "I just really wanted it," MrBeast said of the task. "I had dropped out of college, I wasn't really making much. I knew it would go viral." True enough, by November that year, he had amassed a million subscribers on his channel. In the next years, he'd continue to pull off similar stunts. Nowadays, his 132 million subscribers get to see evolved versions of these challenges in a form of cash competitions.
Why Fans Don't Think MrBeast Is Unproblematic
Early in February, Buzzfeed released an article explaining why people are so upset about MrBeast's recent stunt — helping blind people see for the first time. It showed how divided the viewers were. One wrote in the comments: "Appreciate all you do to help others. You are setting a great example for the community Jimmy. Healing the blind now? You can easily say he's gonna be the best content creator for the coming years. Mad respect!"
But on Twitter, Donaldson was accused of "using" persons with disabilities and people with low income to produce "charity porn." One wrote: "There is something so demonic about this and I can't even articulate what it is."
But even before the scandal, people have always been skeptical about the YouTuber's authenticity.
In 2021, on Reddit's Unpopular Opinion sub, a user wrote: "I find MrBeast Insufferable," citing that time when the internet star used to "make jokes about killing himself with various things while commentating on intros" and when he was "bragging about how much of a good person he is me now he's always been a nice person and yadda yadda yadda."
The Redditor noticed that as Donaldson's audience grew bigger, "everything he's done so far just comes off as disingenuous" to them, adding that "he constantly shoehorns in giving money to people in every single video to show off 'How good of a person he is' just in case you forgot he gives money to people."
They concluded the post by saying that they'd always found MrBeast and his videos "insufferable and a platform to spend his money on others to keep a high morale."
What Is The Net Worth Of MrBeast In 2023?
As of this writing, MrBeast is worth $105 Million. It's a huge increase from his 2018 net worth of $35 million. His current YouTube income is estimated to be around $26 million. That's based on ad revenues, sponsorships, and views. Recently, he told Russian-American computer scientist, Lex Fridman his secret to succeeding on YouTube.
"Weirdly enough, the best thing for my mental health was giving into my innate nature to work," he said during the podcast. "And the most depressed I get is when I try to restrict it, like, 'I don't work weekends' or 'I don't work this day.' What's best for me is just to work when I feel like working."
He added that he loses sleep on content creation. "There are just some nights where I don't wanna sleep, and for whatever reason, I feel compelled to go all night," he shared. "And when I'm really in the grind mode it'll be seven or eight days just non-stop going, going, and then I'll realize, 'Oh, I need some recharge time,' and then go f--king binge a season of anime."
There was also a time when he was just filming in his studio for 20 days straight. "In the last 20 days I've only left this studio once, I just live here, I don't really need money for other things," he previously said on The Iced Coffee Hour podcast. Well, all that hard work has certainly paid off.
