MrBeast’s latest video backfires, sparks outrage online

The world’s biggest YouTuber, MrBeast, has landed in controversy after posting the latest stunt video, titled “Would You Risk Dying for $500,000," which highlights a career stuntman hiding in a building set ablaze while grabbing bags of money.

The fiery stunt has sparked backlash online, with netizens calling it an irresponsible act that could risk the lives of those followers who might try it at home.

After seeing the growing outrage online, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, wasted no time and posted his response to the video on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “I take safety more serious than you could even imagine.”

MrBeast is currently the biggest YouTuber on the platform, with 440 million subscribers on his channel, and is considered to be the highest-paid creator on the video-sharing platform ever.

MrBeast is not just limited to content creation on YouTube; he has also ventured into some other businesses that include fast food and an Amazon TV gameshow, Beast Games.

The viral video, which was first uploaded on YouTube, has so far amassed over 45 million views.

The episode features Eric, the contestant of the game, taking seven “death traps,” including being propelled into a blaze and “surviving” massive explosions, along with fleeing a mock small house.

Since after the upload, users online have condemned the stunt, calling it “humiliating,” while some pointed to it as “a PR stunt.”

Eric (the contestant), in the end, finished the challenges, winning a sum of $350,000.

In response to the backlash online, MrBeast posted on X, saying, “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 stuntman. I take safety more serious than you could ever imagine.”

Let's find out how netizens reacted.

One user questioned whether MrBeast’s previous content was “fake.” The user wrote, “So then like everything else you create it is just fake.”

Another user quipped, "Wait, did you literally let 250k burn? That's just sad and maddening."

A third user criticized MrBeast's content strategy: "It's still not a good example for the current generation who follow you on YouTube and who are not even of legal age for the most part."

MrBeast is undoubtedly the most popular YouTuber on Earth, but recent backlash to the video shows that viewers are not satisfied with his content planning, as it’s potentially having a negative impact on young minds.