MrBeast Apologizes For Resurfaced Videos

The internet appears to be rediscovering the shady side of MrBeast. The content creator has been in hot water for a number of reasons in recent weeks, but the latest controversy is more like a reopening of an old wound. In light of recent controversies, people have been digging back through MrBeast's old videos, and what they're finding isn't pretty.

Old clips of MrBeast making racist comments and homophobic jokes have started recirculating online, quickly going viral on social media. The clips are largely from MrBeast's earliest days on YouTube, which his team addressed directly in a statement given to the Associated Press. "When [MrBeast] was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny," a representative for MrBeast said. "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."

From there, the spokesperson tried to bring attention away from MrBeast's past and refocus on the work that he does today. "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," the statement noted. It's true that MrBeast's philanthropy is changing lives all over the world, but his work is coming under closer scrutiny than ever, and this isn't the first time that he's been a bit dismissive over things he's said in the past.

In 2018, The Atlantic published an article examining MrBeast's habit of using slurs and making edgy jokes in some of his YouTube videos. At the time, MrBeast wasn't very apologetic, saying, "I'm not offensive in the slightest bit in anything I do. I'm just going to ignore it. I don't think anyone cares about this stuff." Since then, however, MrBeast has deleted some of his offensive posts, and hardcore fans have noticed that he's made an effort to change his on-camera persona.

This latest wave of controversy was seemingly kicked off on July 23. YouTuber Rosanna Pansino made a post on X (formerly Twitter) to call out an old MrBeast video that was unlisted on his channel, but still monetized. In the video, MrBeast makes jokes about buying Black people and can be seen joking with members of his chat who were using homophobic slurs. At the same time she was bringing attention to these old videos, Pansino was also sharing serious allegations about MrBeast's TV show "Beast Games," alleging that contestants were being treated poorly during filming. Other content creators have been slow to comment on MrBeast's past language and more recent apology, but to be fair, maybe there are just too many MrBeast controversies to keep up with right now.

It really seems like all the skeletons in MrBeast's closet are coming out right now. While Rosanna Pansino has been busy looking into MrBeast's past and shining a light on "Beast Games," even more people are paying attention to a former MrBeast employee claiming that the YouTuber's videos are largely rigged, if not outright faked. DogPack's claims are still being disputed by others close to the MrBeast camp, but some people have been convinced. Asmongold live-reacted to the video on his stream and said that while he doesn't care about rigged game shows, he is concerned by the accusations surrounding faked sweepstakes and giveaways.

Of course, all this intense scrutiny of MrBeast was really kicked off by the disturbing allegations made against Ava Kris Tyson, MrBeast's longtime friend and collaborator. MrBeast has said he's hired an outside investigator to look into the claims that she exchanged inappropriate messages with underage fans. Regardless of what that investigator uncovers, people are going to keep picking through MrBeast's history with a fine-toothed comb. It's likely that his most recent statement addressing his old videos won't be the last apology that we get from him.