MrBeast wants “brutal” copycats to stop copying him but understands why they do it

Connor Bennett
MrBeast talking into mic wearing red shirt and grey hat

Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson has explained why he wishes some of the “brutal” copycats of his videos would try their own thing, but he also understands why they don’t. 

Over the last few years, MrBeast has taken YouTube by storm with his hugely ambitious videos. He’s smashed the subscriber record for a sole creator on his main channel and has been branching out into different regions too. 

Given his stranglehold on the top of YouTube, it’s no surprise that people are ‘inspired’ somewhat by his style. His thumbnails, video ideas, and much more have been replicated hundreds of times over.

It’s a clearly successful formula, which is why he doesn’t hold it against people too much for following in his footsteps. Though, he does wish there was a little bit more originality on YouTube these days. 

MrBeast wishes YouTubers would stop “stealing” his content

The topic of the ‘Beastification’ of YouTube came up during his most recent appearance on the Colin and Samir podcast, with Donaldson explaining that he’s not a massive fan.

“I wish people would… there is inspiration and then there is stealing. So many people just steal what I do! So many people just put their face on my face or steal my thumbnail, say verbatim what I say at the start of videos, and like all my things,” he said. 

“Every time I’ve done these podcasts, I just come here and I say everything. I literally come here and tell you guys every little thing I know about getting views on youtube. Tens of thousands of creators have watched those and that’s the reason why they’re making $10k plus a month. They’re like ‘Oh, Jimmy just laid it out’ and followed it.”

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He called that a “positive” for those creators but it’s a “negative” for the whole of YouTube because they’re not developing their own thing. 

“It’s pretty brutal,” Jimmy continued. “I don’t call people out for copying for me because not everything I do is original, you always get inspiration from somewhere, so I try not to be hypocritical. 

“I almost wish people would self-police it more. It’s ok to draw inspiration from me but just don’t do what I do to a tee.”

The YouTube superstar added that other creators could easily make similar videos their own, but they don’t. Though, who knows, now he’s called it again, we might see some change.

About The Author

Based out of Liverpool, Connor is Dexerto's UK News Editor having joined the website in 2018 with a degree in International Journalism. You can find him covering everything from CoD, GTA, FIFA, Apex Legends, and influencer boxing. Need to get in touch? Email Connor at Connor.Bennett@Dexerto.com