MrBeast hires investigators over Ava Kris Tyson grooming claims

MrBeast says he’s hired investigators after his former co-host was accused of grooming a teenager.

Ava Kris Tyson was accused by other YouTubers of sending inappropriate messages to the minor when she was 20.

The 28-year-old, who’d worked on MrBeast’s channel since 2012, strenuously denied grooming but said the pair had “mutually agreed” she should quit.

In a follow-up statement, MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, said he was “disgusted” by the “serious allegations of Ava Tyson’s behaviour online”.

Ava has apologised for “past behaviour” which was “not acceptable”.

MrBeast is the world’s biggest YouTuber with more than 300m subscribers.

He said he had become aware of the allegations against Ava, which first started circulating online last month, “over the last few days”.

“I am disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts,” he says.

MrBeast’s statement said he had “been focused on hiring an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure I have all the facts”.

“That said,” he continued, “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.”

The US YouTuber added that he would wait for the investigators to finish their work and “take any further actions based on their findings”.

Ava previously said she had “never groomed anyone” and “to create a narrative that my behaviour extended beyond bad edgy jokes is disgusting and did not happen”.

She added: “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.”

Ava revealed last year that she was a transgender woman and that she was undergoing gender-affirming therapy while changing her pronouns to she/her.

She has not yet responded to MrBeast’s most recent comments.

The person alleged to have recieved the messages from Ava came to her defence, saying that descriptions of their relationship online were “massive lies and twisting the truth”.

In a post shared on X, he wrote: “Ava never did anything wrong and just made a few edgy jokes. I was never exploited or taken advantage of.”

BBC Newsbeat has contacted Ava Tyson and MrBeast’s representatives for comment.

MrBeast first posted on YouTube in 2012 when he was 13.

Over the next 10 years he became one of the most popular content creators, sharing increasingly elaborate videos before being named the most subscribed YouTuber in 2022.

His videos include challenges inspired by Squid Game, a “deadly” obstacle course and spending a week in solitary confinement.

The 26-year-old from Kansas now has 306 million subscribers and more than 55 billion views.

He’s won the prize for favourite male creator at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for the past three years running.

MrBeast is well known for his giveaways, giving fans cash, cars and even houses.

He has a separate channel for his charitable causes where he’s shared videos of him building a school, wells, and supporting an orphanage.

In 2022, Forbes estimated MrBeast makes $54m (£42m) a year and he’s previously spoken about how much he reinvests in his videos.

Away from YouTube, in 2022 MrBeast founded a food company called Feastables following the launch of his virtual fast-food chain, MrBeast Burger.

In 2023 he sued the company behind the fast-food chain, claiming the food was “revolting” and was damaging his reputation.

In March, it was announced he was partnering with Prime Video to create Beast Games which has been billed as “the biggest reality competition series” with 1,000 people competing for a $5m prize.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.