MrBeast wants ‘full assessment’ of internal culture amid impropriety allegations

Jimmy Donaldson, the popular YouTube video maker who goes by MrBeast, wears a Lionel Messi jersey as he stands in a sideline box at the start of an MLS soccer match between Inter Miami and CF Montreal, March 10, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

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. 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 minors.

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.