MrBeast, also known as James ‘Jimmy’ Donaldson, is currently at the center of controversy due to a recent prank he orchestrated, which involved a man seemingly trapped in a burning building for a prize.
Famed for his audacious stunts and contentious videos, MrBeast has built a reputation for awarding substantial sums of money to participants in his games.
In his most recent viral video, however, he has faced significant backlash for challenging a participant to ‘risk dying’ by ‘burning alive’ for a reward of half a million dollars.
The video features a man who appears to be ‘trapped’ while seated on a chair, bound by ropes, surrounded by the tempting $500,000, and increasing flames all around.
In the 25-minute-long clip, which has amassed 47 million views, the man is seen desperately trying to free himself from the ropes.
He had to overcome ‘seven death traps’ as the room was consumed by fire.
During the video, MrBeast remarks, “Oh my gosh, this is the craziest thing we’ve ever filmed,” indicating his intention to ‘push’ the participant to his limits with the stunt.
Despite these reassurances, viewers have expressed their shock and concern about the prank. One individual took to Twitter, labeling MrBeast as a “f***ing psychopath.”
Another expressed anxiety regarding MrBeast’s predominantly young audience, stating, “I hate to be that guy, but the fact that a lot of kids watch MrBeast, this isn’t a good look.”
The commenter continued, “Kids try really dumb s*** and all it takes is the wrong group of kids to think this is something fun or cool they could try out and it’d be a tragedy.”
Others drew comparisons between the YouTube star and notorious fictional characters from Squid Game and Billy the Puppet from Saw.
One commenter added, “Idk man… I like MrBeast but this feels… predatory,” noting, “People really need money and to put someone in this position? It’s starting to feel very Hunger Games like.”
Despite the participant successfully freeing himself from the blaze, and eventually acquiring $250,000 by making multiple trips with the cash while on fire before stopping, MrBeast has elaborated on the stunt’s setup.
In the video, MrBeast mentions that the participant was ‘actually a professional stuntman,’ and he has emphasized the safety measures put in place amid the controversy.
Addressing the situation on Twitter, MrBeast wrote, “This blew up, if you’re curious obviously we had ventilation for the smoke and a kill switch to cut off the fires.”
He added, “We had professionals test this extensively and the guy in the video as stated is a professional stunt man.”
He concluded by asserting, “I take safety more serious than you could ever imagine.”