YouTuber MrBeast issues statement admitting past 'inappropriate language' as allegations emerge online
The YouTuber MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, has released a statement saying he used 'inappropriate language' in some older videos on the platform.
There have been a number of criticisms and accusations made against the popular YouTuber in recent weeks, including allegations that he said inappropriate things.
A spokesperson for the YouTuber told Associated Press: "When Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny.
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"Over the years he has repeatedly apologised and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility to be more aware and more sensitive to the power of language.
"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."
Some of the comments Donaldson's spokesperson is referring to include one from a 2017 video, which was posted onto social media on 24 July by influencer Rosanna Pansino.
In the clip, MrBeast was responding to a comment about selling Black people for money when he said 'the most I would pay is probably 300'.
He also used a number of homophobic slurs, though when a commenter repeated a racial slur, he told his viewers to stop using it.
In another clip, this one from a podcast he was on in May 2017, Donaldson suggested he would have sex with Bhad Bhabie, real name Danielle Bregoli, when she was 14 at the time the comments were made.
That video has since been removed from YouTube for violating their community guidelines.
Podcast co-host, Leon Lush, said that later on in the episode Donaldson insisted he 'wouldn't do that' as Bregoli was 'way too young', and that they had been joking that they should 'say something offensive that people can take out of context'.
Lush said the podcast was 'cringe in hindsight', but that it was 'a molehill turning into a mountain'.
"Being unfunny seems like the worst offense here," the podcaster said of the past comments.
"When you mix a propensity for dark humor with blind ambition for attention, you get this content sometimes.
"Was being edgy the best strategy? Certainly not, although it did work sometimes as far as getting attention."
MrBeast recently announced that he would no longer be working with Ava Kris Tyson after 'serious allegations' were made against her. He said he was 'disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts' and was hiring people to investigate the matter.
She is facing allegations of grooming a minor, which she denies.
Topics: MrBeast, YouTube, Racism, Social Media, US News, LGBTQ, Celebrity
Joe Harker