MrBeast, the most popular YouTuber in the world, addressed internet criticism of a video in which he paid for the eye surgery of one thousand individuals.
Uploaded on January 28 under a pseudonym, the video by Jimmy Donaldson (his real name) has already amassed 59 million views in only three days.
At the outset, Donaldson could be heard in front of a massive crowd saying that in the film, they’re treating 1,000 people’s eyesight.
View this post on Instagram
Donaldson said he was facilitating cataract surgery and filming the patients’ ecstatic responses to their restored vision. The YouTuber spoke with his former coworker, ophthalmologist and surgeon Jeff Levenson, who stated that 50% of all the world’s blind people are folks who require a ten-minute procedure.
In a following Instagram post, Donaldson’s partner organization, SEE International, revealed that the 1,000 procedures seen in the film were performed in 30 countries over the course of three weeks. The non-profit MyVision.org estimates that the average cost of cataract surgery is $3,500 per eye.
Donaldson also handed away a Tesla, a Tesla gift card, and a $50,000 college savings account to one lucky viewer of the video.
When the video first appeared, it was met with an outpouring of love and support. After getting messages of encouragement from people all around the world thanking him for his charity, Donaldson tweeted on January 30 that he “did not anticipate” the upload to gain so many views so quickly.
View this post on Instagram
Donaldson appeared to be alluding to the controversy surrounding the handling of his YouTube revenues in a January 30 tweet about the criticism he had been getting.
Multiple Twitter users and influential figures commented on Donaldson’s tweet, expressing their gratitude for his philanthropic work and expressing their support for Donaldson’s charitable initiatives.
Donaldson, who in November became the most-followed individual YouTube producer, is known for his films in which he generously donates significant quantities of money to charity.
He gained notoriety in 2018 for a series of viral films in which he gave out thousands of dollars to lesser-known streamers. By 2022, he had awarded at least $3.2 million in challenge rewards, including a $2.5 million plane and a private island, according to all his movies uploaded to YouTube.
In 2020, Donaldson started a nonprofit called Beast Philanthropy with the intention of delivering food to underprivileged areas in his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina.
The group has subsequently expanded its reach to include humanitarian relief programs all across the world. In the past, the lavish and altruistic giveaways that he broadcasted across all of his platforms were met with a great deal of praise.
Criticisms Start Spurring
As the video gained more attention, several viewers naturally began to wonder whether or not they could afford such invasive surgery. Famous political journalist and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker expressed his anger with Donaldson’s video on January 29.
Later, he made a passing reference to the reality that many people in the United States go without necessary procedures because of exorbitant costs or lack of health insurance.
The streamer stated that it is tremendously annoying that it is up to one YouTube person to decide to generate stuff out of it when folks who are too poor can’t simply watch.
View this post on Instagram
Clips from the broadcast were reshared by fans who agreed with Piker’s point that people shouldn’t look to rich influencers to solve systemic problems in society, sparking a bigger conversation on Twitter.
While some Twitter users accused Donaldson of paying for the surgeries to boost his online profile and increase the views on his videos, others defended his motives, pointing out that Donaldson has said he invests all of the money he makes from the success of his channel into making more videos and on altruistic projects and giveaways to fans.