YouTube‘s biggest star, MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson), acknowledged in a statement to the Associated Press Wednesday that he used “inappropriate language” in his early online days.
The statement came as part of the damage control to racial and sexist comments made by a younger MrBeast on a recently resurfaced 2017 podcast, and the fallout from a former co-host being accused of “grooming” an underage follower.
“When Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny,” a spokesperson for the YouTuber said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Over the years he has repeatedly apologized and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility to be more aware and more sensitive to the power of language.
“After making some bad jokes and other mistakes when he was younger, as an adult he has focused on engaging with the MrBeast community to work together on making a positive impact around the world.”
MrBeast has 307 million YouTube subscribers. His latest uploads include “Ages 1 – 100 Decide Who Wins $250,000” and “I Built 100 Houses And Gave Them Away!” which garnered more than 100 million views.
He also has an Amazon Prime Video deal for a 1,000-contestant reality competition show that is now in production.
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