What happened to MrBeast? Former employees’ accusations explained
YouTube/ JonYoushaeiFormer employees of MrBeast have come out to share their negative experiences of working for the YouTuber. It comes after Ava Kris Tyson was accused of having inappropriate conversations with minors.
On July 21, Ava Kris Tyson was accused of having had inappropriate friendships with minors and grooming a young fan, LavaGS, who was 13 years old at the time.
In the over 500,000 messages that were leaked, it showed Tyson having underage moderators set up bots that post explicit images, encouraging them to post explicit messages, and fighting to hold on to inappropriate channels despite minors having access to them.
This soon resulted in people going after MrBeast as it was revealed he’d also been a part of the same discord servers and therefore most likely was aware of Tyson’s involvement and conversations.
At the same time, several of MrBeast’s former employees have opened up about their experiences working for the mega YouTuber.
Rosanna Pansino calls out MrBeast for “faking” videos
Before anything was revealed about Tyson, baking influencer Rosanna Pansino took to X/formerly Twitter to accuse MrBeast of faking his YouTube videos.
It started when MrBeast got praised on Twitter/X by tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, who wrote: “One thing I can tell you right now… this man does not fake his videos.”
However, Rosanna quickly refuted Brownlee’s claim in a quote-retweet.
YouTube: Curiosity Stream, Rosanna PansinoShe wrote: “It’s a nope from me. Airrack was caught faking most of the videos for this ‘challenge’ with MrBeast. Jimmy promised to delete Airrack’s channel if he failed. I’m wondering why he didn’t delete Airrack’s channel. Could it be because… It’s fake?”
Pansino is referencing a previous collaboration between prank YouTuber Airrack and MrBeast, who threatened to ‘delete’ Airrack’s channel if he failed to upload a video every single day for 30 days earlier this year.
This wasn’t the first time Rosanna had beef with MrBeast. In late 2023, she found herself embroiled in a feud with the YouTube star after claiming that he’d edited a challenge video she was in to make it seem like other high-profile male creators performed better than she had.
The two creators discussed things in DMs, leading Pansino to publish an apology toward MrBeast—a post that she later deleted, explaining in yet another tweet that she also scrubbed from her profile.
Former employee claims MrBeast knowingly hired sex offender
A few weeks later after Tyson’s scandal came out, on August 9, a former MrBeast employee DogPack404, who previously made claims against MrBeast’s channel, uploaded a new video alleging that the YouTuber knowingly hired a “registered sex offender.”
In the video, Jake Weddle, who worked on MrBeast’s videos before, was asked if he had heard about any other instances of sexual misconduct at the company.
“I heard, you know, people have been let go for sexually assaulting some very young people. The idea that Jimmy didn’t know or that Jimmy was covering stuff up… He didn’t want stuff to come out,” Weddle said.
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“He’s very careful about his image. You know, the tangible proof that he knew but covered it up – how do you prove that? Well, there was a known sex offender, a registered sex offender, convicted sex offender on the registry and everything, who worked there.”
According to what Weddle had heard, the man had done “not-great stuff to some underage people,” and claimed that Jimmy was aware of that when he’d hired him.
Weddle added that this employee was internally referred to as ‘Delaware,’ and evidence surfaced pointing to the brother-in-law of former MrBeast employee Jake The Viking.
Back in 2018, Jake wrote on X, “They are calling my brother-in-law/manager Delaware. And because that’s his name.”
Ava Tyson reportedly sexually assaulted employee
On July 27, Jess – a former employee of MrBeast who goes by ‘Mooskina‘ online – shared on X (formerly Twitter) her experience with Ava, claiming she was sexually assaulted and “coerced” by the “power dynamic” in play.
Jess wrote that she first began interacting with Tyson after the latter followed her on Twitter in 2022, with the two discussing HRT and the possibility of appearing in a MrBeast video. Allegedly, the relationship soon became sexual and involved Ava “love-bombing” Jess into feeling like “the most important person in her life”.
According to Jess, this led to the pair meeting in person and engaging in a “one-sided” sexual relationship in which Tyson “never reciprocated”.
Though she left after finding out Tyson “did not have the ability to cast anyone in a MrBeast video”, Jess returned after she was brought back as an assistant. The two began living together and allegedly resumed the sexual aspect of their relationship.
“I had just moved in with Ava and left my job to come work as her assistant. In no way shape or form did I feel like I could say no without somehow risking my job or being asked to leave,” Jess wrote, describing how she felt “coerced”.
Instagram: kristysonDespite sharing alleged messages showing an agreement to keep things platonic, Jess claimed Ava “toed the line” with her in terms of “what was and wasn’t an appropriate relationship” considering their “power dynamic.”
While they were never officially partners, Jess stated she and Tyson eventually became “very, very close emotionally”, leading her to believe they had “something special moving forward.” However, Tyson got into a relationship with someone else and Jess decided to move out, subsequently losing her job as well.
Jess claimed she eventually talked to HR and divulged the extent of her relationship with Tyson, whereby she learned Tyson “had not been forthcoming with them”. This “led MrBeast to launch a third-party investigation into the matter.”
MrBeast promises “full investigation” in leaked company email
An internal email leaked in early August 2024, but many weren’t convinced that it was really from inside the YouTuber’s production company. The Associated Press confirmed its legitimacy on August 9, and it promises more than just a simple investigation regarding the Ava Tyson accusations.
“Dear Team Beast,” it reads. “I wanted to update all of you on the recent concerns that have been raised online and in the press. As I mentioned in my tweet a couple of weeks ago, we’ve hired Quinn Emanual, a top-tier law firm, to do a full investigation of the Ava Tyson allegations.
“We also asked them to expand the scope to include a full assessment of our internal culture and to investigate allegations of inappropriate behavior by people in the company. While the process is not complete, I have enough preliminary information at this point that I am announcing several changes today.”
He continued: “As your leader, I take responsibility, and I am committed to continue to improve and evolve my leadership style. While I have been mostly focused on creating content, launching Feastables, building our community, and leading our philanthropic efforts, I recognize that I also need to create a culture that makes all our employees feel safe and allows them to do their best work.”
On top of the investigation, MrBeast announced that they are working towards a “more inclusive” environment as well as mandatory training sessions on safety, sexual harassment, and more.
MrBeast accused of stealing video idea
Video Editor Ty Ore claimed that the YouTuber stole his idea for the “World’s Deadliest Obstacle Course!” video, which he claims was his creation during a “vibe check” regarding whether or not he should be hired to work for MrBeast.
Ty OreTy claimed he was perceived to be “not the right fit” for the company after being there for only a few days, and he claimed he wasn’t compensated or credited for the video idea he came up with.
“This man, this company, the employees not only took the time to exploit me and have me work for them under the false pretense of a job that wasn’t, you know, ‘available at the time’, yet they had many people go in and out, you’re trying to tell me you didn’t have any positions at all, yet you had all those people? Not only did you do that, but you used my idea?”
He also showed some of what he claims to be on-set photos of whiteboards and sets being designed during his time there. He plans to make a second video explaining more about his brief time there and his interaction with the company as well.
MrBeast hires lawyer and threatens with lawsuit
On August 27, it was reported that MrBeast had hired celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro, known for representing famous clients like Alec Baldwin, Megan Thee Stallion, and Elon Musk.
Documents obtained by the Daily Mail show that Spiro sent a cease and desist letter to one Dawson French, who they accused of “levying false and defamatory allegations” toward MrBeast using the alias DogPack 404.
“It should be apparent from this letter that MrBeast takes your unlawful content seriously and is committed to getting to the bottom of each and every violation of your agreements during your brief trial period with MrBeast and subsequent to your departure,” the document reads.
Instagram: mrbeastHowever, this wasn’t met with positive eyes as PR experts warned this move might further MrBeast’s downfall instead. But PR experts warn this move might further MrBeast’s downfall instead.
International PR expert Kellie Whitehead dubbed MrBeast’s hiring of Spiro as a sign he had cemented himself “in the domain of the superrich and powerful”, and said fans could expect a “wall of expensive silence” moving forward.
“You are not fixing your reputation this way. You are merely paying to fight legally,” Whitehead said.
At the time of writing, MrBeast hasn’t responded to the allegations except to confirm that a third party is investigating internal affairs at his company. We will make sure to update you if the story progresses.