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By Ryan Smith
Senior Pop Culture & Entertainment Reporter
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MrBeast has broken his silence on allegations that his friend and frequent collaborator Ava Kris Tyson once groomed a teenager.
Tyson, who made regular appearances on the hugely popular MrBeast channel, has faced recent scrutiny for her interactions with a someone using the social media handle LavaGS that started when he was 13 and Tyson was 20.
The controversy arose when a video was shared on YouTube in June. The clip analyzed the two's public online interactions that included references to nude images, sex, and anime pornography hentai. According to NBC News, the posts in question have been taken down as of Wednesday.
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Weighing in on the allegations, MrBeast—whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson—took to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday to share that he is "disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts."
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"Over the last few days, I've become aware of the serious allegations of Ava Tyson's behavior online and I am disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts," he wrote.
"During that time, I have been focused on hiring an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure I have all the facts. That said, I've seen enough online and taken immediate action to remove Ava from the company, my channel, and any association with MrBeast. I do not condone or support any of the inappropriate actions."
"I will allow the independent investigators the necessary time to conduct a comprehensive investigation and will take any further actions based on their findings," the social media star concluded.
Newsweek has contacted MrBeast via email, and Tyson and LavaGS via X for comment.
In a statement of her own, Tyson denied the allegations while issuing an apology to her fans and announcing that she was stepping down from MrBeast's channel.
"I would like to apologize for any of my past behavior or comments if it hurt or offended anyone. It was not my intent," she wrote in a thread posted to X on Tuesday. "Seeing recent events we've mutually decided it's best I permanently step away from all things MrBeast and social media to focus on my family and mental health."
LavaGS, who is now aged 20, also spoke out against the grooming allegations in a post shared to X on Monday.
"These videos are massive lies and twisting the truth," LavaGS said. "Ava never did anything wrong and just made a few edgy jokes. I was never exploited or taken advantage of."
He added in his statement that "Kris's messages to me were sent in public discord servers/groups but everyone is framing it as if it was 1 on 1."
"This situation takes away from children who are actively being exploited everyday online," he said. "I am not a victim of anything being claimed in these videos or at all."
Tyson directed people to LavaGS' posts denying the grooming as she added: "To lump these two factors together to create a narrative that my behavior extended beyond bad edgy jokes is disgusting and did not happen.
"In past years, I have learned that my old humor is not acceptable. I cannot change who I was, but I can continue to work on myself."
Tyson, who has faced attacks over her identity as a transgender woman, has long been a fixture of MrBeast's channel, which holds the record for the most subscribers on YouTube. At the time of writing, the channel has with more than 205 million followers.
According to Forbes, in 2022 MrBeast was earning $54 million a year, mostly from ads on his YouTube videos. He has also become known for giving back to his followers, often uploading videos of his charitable acts.
MrBeast's videos—many of which involve viral stunts and challenges or massive giveaways—cost millions to produce, Rolling Stone reported in 2022. One of his most popular, and most expensive, videos to produce was a real-life recreation of Netflix's Squid Game. It has over 630 million views on YouTube and cost $3.5 million.
Update 7/25/24, 4:00 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional details.
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