YouTuber MrBeast has acknowledged his past use of “bad jokes” and “inappropriate language” after video footage from 2017 emerged showing him making allegedly racist comments and suggesting he would have sex with an underage girl.
“Over the years he has repeatedly apologized and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility to be more aware and more sensitive to the power of language,” the spokesperson continued.
“After making some bad jokes and other mistakes when he was younger, as an adult he has focused on engaging with the MrBeast community to work together on making a positive impact around the world.”
In the video, Donaldson can be seen responding to comments made by fans in the chat, including one regarding “selling black people for money.”
Reading aloud, Donaldson says “selling n-word for $400 money?”
“The most I would pay is $300,” he responded. “Sorry, $400 is just out of my price range for that type of stuff.”
Later in the video, Donaldson uses a homophobic slur multiple times.
He also reads out loud more messages from his audience that contain racial slurs, including one that said “selling 10 [expletive] for 69$ each,” although he skipped over the offending word and did not read it aloud.
Although he does not specifically use the slur himself, he calls the price “steep” and laughs.
Later in the video, Donaldson tells his viewers to stop using the racist language in their comments, at one point saying: “No more. No. No boys. No more typing the n-word in chat. No more cursing.”
Bregoli was 14 years old at the time.
The video was ultimately removed from YouTube for violating community guidelines.
After that video resurfaced, Donaldson’s podcast co-host Leon Lush, whose real name is James Simons, defended the YouTuber and said the clip from the podcast had been taken out of context. Simons was one of the people heard on the episode, and he pointed out that in 2017, it was a common strategy to be “edgy” online in an attempt to be funny and draw more audience engagement.
Simons also said Donaldson clarified during the podcast episode that he “wouldn’t do that” because Bregoli was “way too young.”
“When you mix a propensity for dark humor with blind ambition for attention, you get [expletive] like this sometimes,” Simons said.
Donaldson, who began his career as a gaming content creator, has over 307 million subscribers on YouTube and over 103 million followers on TikTok.
Co-Host Quits Over Messages to Minor
Donaldson’s apology comes after the co-host of his MrBeast YouTube channel, Ava Kris Tyson, issued a public apology following accusations that Tyson exchanged inappropriate messages with a minor.Tyson—who identifies as transgender and whose real name is Chris Tyson—said he would be stepping away from the channel and social media to focus on “family and mental health” after other YouTubers posted videos online accusing him of messaging the minor when he was 20 years old.
Tyson, 28, has denied the allegations and said the minor involved has also attested that the allegations are false.
Still, he apologized for his “past behavior or comments if it hurt or offended anyone.”
The YouTuber said he was also focused on hiring an independent third party to conduct a “thorough investigation to ensure I have all the facts.”
“That said, I’ve seen enough online and taken immediate action to remove Ava from the company, my channel, and any association with MrBeast,” he said. “I do not condone or support any of the inappropriate actions. I will allow the independent investigators the necessary time to conduct a comprehensive investigation and will take any further actions based on their findings.”
The Epoch Times has contacted a spokesperson for further comment.
