MrBeast fans stunned to discover YouTuber was arrested for street racing

Fans of MrBeast were stunned after finding out that the YouTube star was arrested in 2018 when he was just 19 for driving 122 MPH in an illegal street race. He was charged and book, complete with a mugshot and everything.

MrBeast is known for his videos featuring large stunts, challenges, and massive cash or prize giveaways, but he’s also famous for being surprisingly reserved about the enormous sums of money he likely earns.

While the social media star has been working towards this level of success for a decade, he hasn’t always been wise with his finances. In fact, he was arrested in 2018, although that incident was only loosely connected to the money he was already generating through YouTube.

MrBeast was pulled over and detained for driving a car at 122 MPH on a North Carolina highway around 2:30 a.m. according to the Tar River Times. Police reported that two vehicles were speeding and appeared to be racing each other.

Tar River Times

The content creator, who was 19 years old at the time, was stopped by police and taken into custody. Some fans speculate that he was likely driving a BMW i8 at the time, as he had posted a now-deleted video showing his new purchase around that period.

According to a press release from the Tarboro Police Department, the YouTuber was charged with speeding 122 mph in a 70 mph zone, Reckless Driving to Endanger, and Speed Competition. He was held on an $100,000 bond at the time.

He financed the car not only through his YouTube earnings, but, as he admitted in the deleted video, by liquidating several of his cryptocurrency investments.

Many fans were surprised to learn about his arrest, with one Redditor writing, “This is something that the YouTube community doesn’t know yet. Pretty surprising tbh.”

“I did not know MrBeast got arrested before,” another said, while a third added, “Well this is surprising like what the f**k.”

While the YouTuber has never publicly addressed his 2018 arrest, he recently responded to the sexual misconduct allegations against his company.