The Conversation (0)
MrBeast takes a punch from Mike Tyson at Canelo v Crawford
@ringmagazine
The world’s most subscribed-to YouTuber, MrBeast, is no stranger to controversy as he has people take part in outlandish challenges just to try and win some money – from criticism over his “sadistic” ideas, to lawsuits and his ‘ironic’ game show adaptations.
And now, the content creator – real name Jimmy Donaldson – has come under fire (pun not intended) for his latest video, in which a professional stuntman is seen tied inside a chair in burning house and made to escape with $500,000 in cash.
The video, titled “Would You Risk Dying For $500,000?”, was released on Saturday, and sees the contestant (referred to only as Eric) take on seven fire-based “death traps” to win a sum of money.
Indy100 has been unable to identify the stuntman, who is only seen wearing goggles as the blaze progresses.
The dramatic scenes have seen Donaldson condemned by Twitter/X users, who have branded the situation “dehumanising” and “dystopian”:
A number of people compared him to the Front Man or Hwang In-Ho, the villain in Netflix’s Squid Game played by Lee Byung-hun:
“This guy is slowly turning into a psychopath in real time… wtf”, wrote another:
A third criticised Donaldson calling upon his friend to “get the fire extinguisher” while the house was burning, rather than having it “close to you”:
A video with the caption “POV it’s 2050 and the only way to obtain a house is by winning a MrBeast challenge” was also shared in one reply, with the poster adding: “We’re so close to this becoming reality”:
“Nothing about this is about this is entertaining. For someone to go to the lengths of intentionally being in a burning house to secure life changing money and for you to turn it into content is dehumanizing. If you have free money to give away just give it away,” tweeted another:
However, not everyone was critical of Donaldson, with some social media users pointing out the stuntman “signed up for this”:
Another commented that “they probably have firefighters and stuff present” and that Donaldson “can’t risk his brand”:
And if you’re wondering, after taking part in the seven stunts, Eric walked away with $350,000.
indy100 has approached MrBeast’s representatives for comment.
Why not read…
- Did MrBeast buy the NFL? Everything we know about the rumours
- Netflix CEO claims MrBeast would make more money if he left YouTube
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.