On Friday, Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. MrBeast, tweeted the findings of a three-month investigation into allegations about his company’s “workplace environment and culture,” as well as specific allegations against current and former employees.
According to the email shared by Donaldson, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP found that allegations of sexual misconduct “between Company employees and minors” as well as “allegations of the company knowingly employing individuals with proclivities or histories toward illegal or questionable legal conduct” are “without basis.” The letter is signed by Alex Spiro, who is also the lead attorney in New York Mayor Eric Adams’ current federal corruption case. The law firm said in a statement that they had “nothing at the moment” to add.
The conclusion of the investigation came after a fraught summer for Donaldson, who runs the biggest channel on YouTube. On July 24, Donaldson tweeted that he and his company had parted ways with Ava Kris Tyson, who had been his second in command since the channel was started in 2012 over allegations that she had inappropriate conversations with minors, including her Discord moderator LavaGS. Days after, Tyson’s former executive assistant, Jess, tweeted a now-deleted thread that she had been “sexually assaulted” by the creator, who had used her status within the company to coerce sexual favors. Jess also claimed that after she no longer wanted to engage in sexual favors with the MrBeast star, Tyson ended their professional relationship. On July 23 a post on X, Tyson denied any allegations of grooming or sexual misconduct, adding “I humbly apologize to anyone I have hurt with my unacceptable social media posts, past actions, and to those who may feel betrayed by how I used to act online.” (Tyson did not provide comment to Rolling Stone at the time, nor did she respond to a request for comment about the investigation’s conclusion.)
This is the first public comment Donaldson has made about Tyson since those initial allegations and only the third tweet he’s posted since July. According to the email he shared, they did identify “several isolated instances of workplace harassment and misconduct” but took “swift and inappropriate actions” to address the incidents. They did not specify what those specific incidents were, or who was disciplined.
There are also a series of recommended changes that MrBeast has “already implemented or is in the process of implementing,” including “mandatory corporate training for all employees,” “developing new policies codified in an employee handbook,” and “swiftly terminating individuals who violated company policy.” The company will also hire a new CEO, replacing venture capitalist Jeffrey Housenbold who was hired in June, as well as a CPO, CFO, and General Counsel. (It’s unclear if those roles previously existed.) In early August, an internal email was leaked to X account DramaAlert, announcing many of these changes internally, including hiring a new general counsel and CFO, “mandatory training,” “listening sessions,” and “anonymous review.” (A MrBeast spokesperson declined to comment.)
The email also mentions a cease and desist the law firm sent to YouTuber and former MrBeast employee Dawson French, who, under the name “DogPack404,” has posted multiple videos alleging inappropriate workplace behavior at MrBeast (though some have criticized him for sharing information that hadn’t been completely vetted). “If MrBeast wanted the truth to come out, why would they threaten the whistleblower with legal action,” French says in a statement to Rolling Stone. While he says that he was not interviewed for this investigation, he notes that “they took action against the people I reported.”
Those whose stories were investigated have mixed feelings about Donaldson’s tweet. LavaGS, who was 13 when he first started talking to a then 20-year-old Tyson, tweeted in a response that “private investigators reviewed all my DMs and interactions with” Tyson. “I was not groomed, these were false allegations made up by other people with my name thrown in them.” The moderator has been very clear that he was not groomed since his story broke, tweeting on July 23, “I am not a victim,” and, “Nothing bad happened between me and” Tyson. When reached for comment, LavaGS directed Rolling Stone to his statement.
But Jess says the post made her “sad.” Though none of the allegations were mentioned by name, her story was the catalyst that got the investigation into misconduct started. She had reached out to MrBeast HR on July 10. Though she had been interviewed as part of the investigation, she says their last correspondence took place on Aug. 14. “They stopped answering me,” Jess says. “This public statement is the only update about this situation that I’ve got at all.”
