MrBeast wants ‘thorough review’ of internal culture amid allegations of impropriety and unsafe sets

NEW YORK — MrBeast ordered a full review of the internal culture of his YouTube empire, as well as an investigation into “allegations of inappropriate behavior by people at the company,” according to a confidential memo obtained by The Associated Press.

Addressed to “Team Beast” employees, the message sent Wednesday outlines infrastructure changes, including plans to hire a chief human resources officer and require company-wide sensitivity training. Expanded investigation signals that problems within YouTube’s biggest channel may run deeper than the “serious allegations” facing a longtime contributor recognized last month by MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson.

“As your leader, I take responsibility and am committed to continuing to improve and develop my leadership style,” Donaldson wrote. “I recognize that I also need to create a culture that makes all of our employees feel safe and allows them to do their best work.”

A MrBeast spokesperson confirmed the memo was sent to employees but declined further comment. The memo comes after a turbulent few weeks for the YouTuber, long beloved by his young fans for his laid-back videos of outrageous giveaways and audacious acts of charity.

Donaldson admitted to having previously used “inappropriate language” last week after clips circulated online of past homophobic and racist comments. An early production of his ambitious game show – which will feature 1,000 contestants and a $5 million grand prize – recently brought safety complaints from competitors who described a chaotic scenario where they did not have regular access to food, water and medicine.

The memo reveals that Donaldson hired the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to investigate her friend and fellow creator Ava Tyson – who left the company in July following online allegations that she shared inappropriate sexual messages with minors.

Meanwhile, Donaldson told employees that the company he founded in 2016, at age 18, is making several changes designed to “foster a better internal culture as we continue to grow.”

The memo outlined plans to also hire a chief financial officer and legal counsel. The company will offer an “anonymous reporting mechanism” as well as mandatory training for all employees on “safety, sexual harassment, LGBTQ, diversity, sensitivity training and workplace conduct,” according to the memo.

Donaldson has recently moved to expand his influence far beyond his main YouTube channel’s record 309 million subscribers.

Other YouTube channels “Beast Reacts” and “Beast Philanthropy” total more than 34 million and 25 million subscribers, respectively. Its MrBeast Burger was widely panned, but Walmart still offers its popular Feastables chocolate bars. And Amazon Prime Video is set to stream “Beast Games” – billed as the “biggest reality competition.”

But running such an expansive company is difficult, said Jake Bjorseth, founder of Gen Z ad agency Trndsttrs. He thinks this is especially complex in the case of MrBeast, when “an individual is the brand” and “their image is now more closely associated with revenue.”

As internal culture necessarily shifts to more “corporate,” Bjorseth said, Donaldson will have to find a way to “de-risk everything” while maintaining the “magic” for his followers.

MrBeast’s reaction to the growing controversies and any resulting content changes could end up alienating different parts of its broad audience, Bjorseth added.

“Will we see negative consumer reaction at the product level? Because that’s where there could be some serious ramifications,” he said.

“What do they do with the next YouTube video release?” He continued. “Does there need to be a response video about this or will it continue as usual? They are in a very complicated situation.”

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