MrBeast, a.k.a. Jimmy Donaldson, may have just learned that no good deed goes unpunished.
The minted American YouTuber, who is known for his elaborate stunts and insane giveaways, has copped some backlash for his latest video in which he donates shoes to 20,000 children in South Africa.
“For hundreds of thousands of kids in South Africa, the only thing standing between them and an education is a simple pair of shoes,” the YouTuber said in the video. He added that the children had to walk barefoot for miles over harsh terrain, broken glass and contaminated water to get to school.
To help, the social media star and his team flew to Johannesburg and met with a charity called Barefoot No More. The nonprofit produces footwear from innovative materials that increase durability and comfort. The influencer then flew to Cape Town with 20,000 pairs of kicks and handed them out to the students most desperate for help.
This is not Donaldson’s first philanthropic endeavor. In fact, he launched Beast Philanthropy in October 2020 to leverage the power of his social media platform for good. It now partners with various charities to tackle big and small social issues. The YouTuber previously “helped 1,000 people see for the first time” by paying for cataract surgery, for instance.
Not everyone is a fan, though. Some Twitter users say Donaldson is doing these things primarily for views and clout. Others argue that since he makes a profit from the video, it’s not really charity. And still others criticize his “poorly executed charity” and failure to see the bigger picture. Band-Aid solutions such as this often attract criticism as major structural issues (such as poverty, disease, and hunger) can never be solved by a mere act of kindness. We need bigger changes to the system for that. Giving is still giving, though.
MrBeast has reportedly always used paid partnerships to fund his philanthropy. According to Beast Philanthropy, the YouTuber received his first sponsorship deal of $10,000 in June 2017 and gave away all of the money. He appears to have established a cycle in which sharing a video about a good deed generates money for another good deed. One Twitter user described this as an “infinite money glitch” where “philanthropy pays for more philanthropy.”
One thing’s for certain: The millionaire is spotlighting big issues. His latest video has 1.2 million views as of writing, and #MrBeast is trending on Twitter.
