MrBeast wants 'full assessment' of internal culture amid allegations of impropriety and unsafe sets
The memo comes after various allegations were launched against the YouTuber and a former staffer
MrBeast has ordered a full assessment of the internal culture in his YouTube empire as well as an investigation into "allegations of inappropriate behavior by people in the company," according to a confidential memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Addressed to "Team Beast" employees, the message sent Wednesday outlines infrastructure changes including plans to hire a chief human resources officer and require company-wide sensitivity training. The expanded probe signals that troubles inside YouTube's biggest channel could go deeper than the "serious allegations" facing a longtime collaborator acknowledged last month by MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson.
"As your leader, I take responsibility, and I am committed to continue to improve and evolve my leadership style," Donaldson wrote. "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."
A spokesperson for MrBeast confirmed that the memo was sent to employees. The memo comes after a turbulent few weeks for the YouTuber, long adored by his young fans for freewheeling videos of outrageous giveaways and audacious charitable acts.
Donaldson admitted to previously using "inappropriate language" last week after clips circulated online of past homophobic and racist remarks.
"When Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny," a spokesperson for the YouTuber said in a statement to The Associated Press.
"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."
Complaints from game show contestants
An early production of his ambitious game show — set to feature 1,000 competitors and a $5 million grand prize — recently brought safety complaints from contestants who described a chaotic set where they lacked regular access to food, water and medication.
The memo reveals Donaldson has hired white-shoe law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to investigate his friend and fellow creator Ava Tyson — who left the company in July after online accusations that she shared inappropriate sexual messages with a minor.
Tyson was accused by other YouTubers of sending inappropriate messages to the minor when she was 20. The now 28-year-old, who'd worked on MrBeast's channel since 2012, has denied the allegations of grooming but her and Donaldson had "mutually agreed" she should quit.
In a follow-up statement, MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, said he was "disgusted" by the "serious allegations of Ava Tyson's behaviour online."
Over the last few days, I’ve become aware of the serious allegations of Ava Tyson's behavior online and I am disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts.<br><br>During that time, I have been focused on hiring an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure…
—@MrBeastAva has apologized for "past behaviour" that was "not acceptable."
In the meantime, Donaldson told employees that the company he founded in 2016 at age 18 is making several changes intended "to foster a better internal culture as we continue to grow."
The memo outlined plans to also hire a chief financial officer and general counsel. The company will offer an "anonymous reporting mechanism" as well as mandatory training for all employees on "safety, sexual harassment, LGBTQ, diversity, sensitivity training, and workplace conduct," according to the memo.
Donaldson has recently moved to expand his influence far beyond his main YouTube channel's record 309 million subscribers. Other YouTube channels "Beast Reacts" and "Beast Philanthropy" total more than 34 million and 25 million subscribers, respectively. His MrBeast Burger has been widely panned but Walmart still carries his popular Feastables chocolate bars. And Amazon Prime Video is set to carry "Beast Games" — touted as the "biggest reality competition."
But managing such an expansive company gets difficult, said Jake Bjorseth, founder of the Gen Z advertising agency Trndsttrs. He finds that is especially complex in MrBeast's case when "an individual is the brand" and "his image is now more closely associated with the revenue."
As the internal culture necessarily shifts more "corporate," Bjorseth said, Donaldson will have to find a way to "de-risk everything" while still maintaining the "magic" for his followers.
MrBeast's reaction to the spiraling controversies and any ensuing content changes could end up alienating different parts of his broad audience, Bjorseth added.
"Are we going to see consumer backlash at the product level? Because that's where there could be some serious ramifications," he said.
"What do they do with the next release of a YouTube video?" he continued. "Does there need to be a response video that comes out of this or is it going to be business as usual? They're in a very tricky spot."
A MrBeast spokesperson told AP that the most recent video — posted Aug. 3 and titled "Survive 100 Days In Nuclear Bunker, Win $500,000" — was the second fastest to reach 100 million views in the channel's history.
With files from CBC News