The world’s most popular YouTuber, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, says he’s “disgusted” by allegations made about the channel’s longtime co-host Ava Tyson grooming a teenager online. Donaldson said in a statement that he’s commissioned an independent investigation to get to the facts, but has already “seen enough online and taken immediate action to remove Ava from the company, my channel, and any association with MrBeast.”
Ava Tyson has worked on MrBeast’s channel from the very beginning in 2012, but in recent weeks allegations began to surface about her interactions with a young competition winner. The individual was 13 years old at the time, and Tyson ran a Discord server with them and interacted on social media. The core allegations centre around screencaps of inappropriate messages Tyson allegedly sent to the minor, some of a sexual nature.
Tyson addressed the allegations by saying she’d “never groomed anyone” and that to suggest “my behaviour extended beyond bad edgy jokes is disgusting and did not happen […] In past years, I have learned that my old humour is not acceptable. I cannot change who I was, but I can continue to work on myself.”
The individual involved has been named online, and is now 20 years old, and sprung to Tyson’s defence. “These videos are massive lies and twisting the truth. Ava never did anything wrong and just made a few edgy jokes. I was never exploited or taken advantage of,” they wrote on X. “I am not a victim of anything being claimed in these videos or at all.”
The 28 year-old Tyson nevertheless said she and Donaldson had “mutually agreed” she should quit, though Donaldson’s subsequent statement suggests the decision was more one-sided. Donaldson also begins with the claim he’s only known about the allegations for a few days.
“Over the last few days, I’ve become aware of the serious allegations of Ava Tyson’s behavior online and I am disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts,” says Donaldson. “During that time, I have been focused on hiring an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure I have all the facts. That said, I’ve seen enough online and taken immediate action to remove Ava from the company, my channel, and any association with MrBeast. I do not condone or support any of the inappropriate actions.”
Donaldson says the investigators will have all the time they need “to conduct a comprehensive investigation and [I] will take any further actions based on their findings.”
MrBeast and Tyson’s association goes back to Donaldson’s first YouTube videos. Tyson played a significant role in the channel’s rise and many of its most infamous prank videos, as well as being the main host of the popular “Beast Reacts” series, and Donaldson’s personal friend.
Indeed Donaldson, who is not usually the type to get drawn into cultural or political fights online, has come out strongly in Tyson’s defence in the past, most notably when she announced she was transitioning in 2023 and seeking gender-affirming care. In response to a rightwing YouTube hitpiece about Tyson’s family and claims that the channel would lose fans, Donaldson said: “This is getting absurd. [Ava] isn’t my ‘nightmare’ he’s my fucken friend and things are fine. All this transphobia is starting to piss me off.”
Ava Tyson says she’s going to “permanently step away from all things MrBeast and social media to focus on my family and mental health.”
The MrBeast YouTube channel now boasts over 306 million subscribers, over 55 billion views, and his latest video (in which 50 YouTubers fight over a $1,000,000 prize) has had 190 million views in 11 days. The creator’s videos have in recent years tended towards these lavish giveaways, or showcasing Donaldson’s philanthropic work (which has been called “charity porn“), and the 26 year-old’s eye for what works online remains ruthlessly unerring. And in this case Donaldson has decided that, whatever the truth of the matter may be, he wants as far away as possible from a clearly damaging association.