The world’s most-followed YouTuber, MrBeast, has pushed back against criticism over his latest high-octane challenge video titled “Would You Risk Dying for $500,000 (£372,000)”.
The video features Eric, a professional stuntman, attempting to grab bags of money while escaping from a burning building and surviving a series of other dramatic stunts.
Since its release on Saturday, the clip has racked up over 45 million views on YouTube.
Among the seven “death traps” Eric faced were being launched from a cannon into flames, withstanding large-scale explosions, and escaping a fire-engulfed mock-up house. He ultimately walked away with $350,000 (£260,000).
While the production was met with awe by some viewers, it also triggered backlash online, with critics branding it “humiliating” and even “dystopian.”
Others, however, suggested Eric was never truly in danger and dismissed it as “a PR stunt.”
Responding to the outrage, Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, defended the precautions taken during filming.
On X, he wrote, “This blew up, if you’re curious obviously we had ventilation for the smoke and a kill switch to cut off the fires. We had professionals test this extensively and the guy in the video as stated is a professional stunt man. I take safety more serious than you could ever imagine.”
He doubled down in a pinned YouTube comment, explaining, “We also had a pyro team [specialists in fire effects] controlling the fires and multiple fire suppression methods on every challenge to ensure we could essentially turn off the fire if there was ever an issue. But our stunt coordinator did an amazing job as always, and none of these systems were ever needed. Just wanted to be transparent with you all since I saw some concern!”
Donaldson, who boasts over 440 million subscribers and is regarded as YouTube’s top earner, has built an empire that extends beyond content creation, with ventures including his fast-food chain and Amazon’s Beast Games.
Still, his projects have often drawn scrutiny. Last year, Beast Games was hit with a lawsuit from contestants who claimed they were “exploited” during filming, allegations Donaldson dismissed as exaggerated.
More recently, he faced criticism from the Mexican government for “exploiting” Mayan pyramids in a video, and in April he apologised after fans reported a “horrible” experience at a Las Vegas event linked to his brand.
