MrBeast probe ends with some employees fired but finds no proof of
sexual misconduct allegations
Send a link to a friend
[November 02, 2024]
By JAMES POLLARD
NEW YORK (AP) — Online video production company MrBeast said Friday it
has fired somewhere between 5 to 10 employees following an investigation
into the YouTube empire's workplace culture.
A company spokesman declined to put a precise number on the firings, say
which employees were let go or for what reasons. But the shakeup comes
as Jimmy Donaldson, who draws millions of views under the MrBeast alias
with highly produced stunts and giveaways, deals with accusations of
impropriety against himself, his collaborators and others within his
multimillion-dollar production company that have threatened his
family-friendly image.
Investigators only identified “several isolated instances of workplace
harassment and misconduct," according to a two-page letter sent Friday
by Alex Spiro, a trial lawyer who led the investigation by white-shoe
law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and whose clients have
included Jay-Z and Elon Musk.
The nearly three-month probe concluded that there was no basis behind
allegations that MrBeast team members committed sexual misconduct or
“knowingly” employed people with “proclivities or histories towards
illegal or questionable legal conduct."
Spiro said the team interviewed 39 current and former employees.
Millions of documents from phones, emails, and messaging platforms
including Discord and Slack were also reviewed, according to the letter.
The controversies surrounding the so-called King of YouTube began
snowballing this summer. Ava Tyson, a Donaldson friend and fellow
creator accused of sharing inappropriate sexual messages with minors
over multiple years, left the channel in July. Also circulated online by
YouTuber Rosanna Pansino was a 2017 recording of Donaldson making racist
comments and using homophobic slurs.
A preliminary July shoot for his ambitious “Beast Games” Amazon Prime
Video show was quickly hit with safety complaints from some contestants
who said they faced “limited sustenance” and “insufficient medical
staffing” while competing for a $5 million grand prize.
[to top of second column]
|
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 in turn has hired new executives, including a head of personnel
and a general counsel, according to Spiro, and additional employees are
getting “targeted training and executive coaching” for undisclosed
violations of company policy.
The company “has grown exceedingly quickly from a YouTube start-up
comprised of a group of talented young individuals to a much larger
entity,” Spiro wrote to MrBeast's Board of Directors. “It is not
uncommon that policies and practices essential in a mature company would
lag behind commercial success.”
Donaldson has largely remained silent on the matters. He recently
launched a prepacked lunch brand alongside internet personalities Logan
Paul and KSI — marking his latest entrance into the food market after
his chocolate bar and burger chain were met with mixed reviews. His 325
million YouTube subscribers have continued to see their feeds filled
with outlandish, high-energy videos like the recently titled “100
Identical Twins Fight For $250,000.”
In a Friday post on X sharing Spiro's letter, Donaldson wrote that he
“was asked to refrain from making public statements to enable a detailed
and unbiased investigation.”
Pansino, one of Donaldson’s most vocal critics, responded on X that the
findings of “workplace harassment and misconduct” and “multiple firings”
mean "it might be time for a bigger investigation.”
Donaldson's level of fame and growth place him in “pretty rare company,”
said advertising lawyer Robert Freund, whose practice helps creators
resolve disputes. He said he suspects the letter was released in attempt
to assure stakeholders “that he's running a professional operation.”
“I don’t see anything fishy or suspicious about what we’ve been
presented with here as the public,” Freund told The Associated Press.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved |