Mr. Beast's Latest $100M Lawsuit Over Burger Chain Drama Fully Explained
Jimmy Donaldson, better known as the famous YouTuber, Mr. Beast, got an order of a hamburger with a side of lawsuit because of one of his business ventures. According to Business Insider, Donaldson began his YouTube career in 2012, however, it wasn't until about five years later that his first video ever went viral. From giving away millions of dollars to doing outlandish stunts, Donaldson's videos have amassed millions of views over the years. Eager for the next one to come out, the YouTube sensation has over 178 million subscribers on the platform.
Not only did he gain more followers over the years, but he also became richer and richer. According to The Richest, in 2022, Donaldson was making around $3 to $5 million a month. While many would spend that money on cars, houses, and everything in between, Donaldson has tried to venture into different businesses, one of which included Mr.Beast Burger.
Mr. Beast Burger came out of the blue after the YouTuber decided to shoot a video of a free restaurant giving free food to his followers. The demand inspired Donaldson to create a virtual fast-food chain called Mr. Beast Burger. The company's website described the business, sharing, "He [Donaldson] has joined forces with Virtual Dining Concepts to create MrBeast Burger–a virtual restaurant brand, now available to order across the U.S. for delivery only." But what started as a potential big business has quickly turned into a headache for the YouTuber as new lawsuits have emerged.
Mr.Beast sued his delivery service partner
The kitchen is getting messy, the virtual kitchen that is. When Mr.Beast Burger opened in December 2020, Jimmy Donaldson, better known as Mr. Beast, relied on kitchens across America through the company Virtual Dining Concepts to make his burgers and get them to consumers. At first, things seemed to be going well, and in 2022 the YouTuber announced the business had achieved a remarkable feat of over 100 million dollars in revenue, per Dextero. Although things seemed great on the outside, on the inside, the business partners were not doing well.
In July 2023, Mr.Beast filed a lawsuit against Virtual Dining Concepts claiming the business was not focusing on the quality of food served, per NBC. Donaldson and his team claimed, "Virtual Dining Concepts was more focused on rapidly expanding the business as a way to pitch the virtual restaurant model to other celebrities for its own benefit, it was not focused on controlling the quality of the MrBeast Burger customer experience and products." They alleged that food was not being delivered on time, had missing items, and at times the meals were "inedible." Donaldson claims that all the complaints on the product had "damaged his reputation."
In addition, Donaldson and his team also claimed that Virtual Dining Concepts used the "Mr.Beast" image and filed trademarks related to his brand that the YouTuber never authorized. Now, Virtual Dining Concepts seems to have turned the tables on the YouTuber.
Virtual Dining Concepts fired back with a lawsuit
It seemed to be known that Jimmy "Mr.Beast" Donaldson was checked out of Mr.Beast Burger for a while. In June 2023, the YouTuber responded to a Twitter user asking if his restaurant business was done. He tweeted, "Yeah, the problem with Beast Burger is I can't guarantee the quality of the order. When working with other restaurants it's impossible to control it sadly And tbh I just enjoy Feastables 100x more." The tweet was a clear dig at Donaldson's delivery service partner, Virtual Dining Concepts, and his lawsuit was the final straw.
Virtual Dining Concepts, however, is not going down without a fight. In August 2023, the company filed its own lawsuit against Donaldson for 100 million dollars, per Variety. The company came in hot as they shared, "This case is about a social media celebrity who believes his fame means that his word does not matter, that the facts do not matter and that he can renege and breach his contractual obligations without consequence. He is mistaken." The company claimed that the YouTuber has "damaged the reputation of Mr. Beast Burger and VDC."
In addition, they allege Donaldson did not meet his "promotional obligations" and only continued to make damaging comments about Mr.Beast Burger that affected the operations of the business financially. Donaldson has yet to comment on Virtual Dining concepts claims, but it's clear neither side is going down without a fight.