MrBeast's Former Staffers Have Some Cold Things To Say About Him

MrBeast, whose real name is James Stephen Donaldson, rose to fame by creating high-energy, outrageous prank videos and social experiments for his YouTube channel, which boasts over 500 million subscribers as of the time of this writing. However, the social media star has expanded his creative output by leading wide-reaching charitable initiatives, which have included building houses for the homeless, curing blindness in strangers, and supplying people with clean water. And those are just a few of the ways MrBeast has used his riches for good.

But not everyone has a high opinion of the beloved YouTuber. Over the years, many of MrBeast's former staffers have shared some unflattering opinions about him. Namely, that his videos are highly produced, adding to the speculation about how authentic he is behind the scenes. "He has very specific editing requirements for his editors, not just how much you get done or how fast, but how many seconds into a video are you showing the super funny thing that happens," one of his former employees shared with Business Insider in August 2025. Then after a video is complete, MrBeast purportedly tests it relentlessly to figure out how to maximize audience retention. In his production guide, he noted utilizing his YouTube analytics, which include "super detailed graphs for every video that show the exact second we lose a viewer on every single video."

None of this necessarily means that his videos are fake — just that they're not nearly as spontaneous as they come across. When it comes to Mr. Beast, though, accusing him of being inauthentic is one of the nicer things his former staffers have said about him.

Although MrBeast's fans have fallen in love with his upbeat, nice-guy persona, some of his former employees have suggested it's all an act. While speaking with The New York Times in 2021, Matt Turner, a former editor for MrBeast, accused his boss of calling him inappropriate slurs. He also claimed that his work was not acknowledged. "I was not to be credited for anything I did," he continued, adding, "I'd ask for credit, he'd credit someone else." 

Meanwhile, software developer Ryan Morey claimed that MrBeast looked up to Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO/entrepreneur who has a long history of questionable workplace practices. "He takes a lot of inspiration directly from Elon Musk for better or for worse," said Morey, who was not a former employee but a fan. "It's the cult of personality, all ambition all the time."

People have also alleged that MrBeast's business practices aren't up to par — especially considering the scope of some of his projects, including his "Beast Games," which was meant to mimic the "Squid Game" Netflix series. "It was by far the most unprofessional production I've ever been a part of," shared a contestant wrangler in an interview with News 3. "And I think the biggest part of that was the communication was terrible."