YouTuber MrBeast is courting controversy again for the environmental carnage of a characteristically over-the-top video. This time, he's receiving backlash even before the video drops.
Media outlet Dexerto had the scoop on the video's private jet stunt that is alarming observers for its safety and pollution concerns. MrBeast revealed the stunt's wild premise on a podcast. It consists of putting two pilots on a plane for 100 days with unlimited fuel and the freedom to fly or stay docked at their own leisure. If they're able to stay in the jet for all 100 days, they win the private jet.
Per Dexerto, MrBeast threw out the fanciful idea of a pilot flying to New York City to get high-quality pizza and then jetting off to California for the rest of the night. While this social experiment might make for some entertainment, social media users immediately questioned it.
"Well this would instantly reverse all the pollution and emissions he saved from planting those 100 million trees," one user wrote on X.
"Because let's risk pilots' [lives] for entertainment," a user added.
As more posts came in calling out these concerns and the overall waste of the video, MrBeast responded.
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"I see tweets asking how they'll fly for 100 days, the flying is a choice! They can just stay in the airport and don't have to fly anywhere it's just an option to make it more fun. Also we're tracking the carbon emitted and gonna offset it at the end of the video," he posted on X.
This isn't the first time MrBeast has generated negative sentiment. An indulgent video celebrating superyachts, egregious polluters, and sinking a $1 yacht was called out by Redditors as wasteful. A similarly excessive Lamborghini stunt also frustrated many viewers.
That's not to say everything is negative, as MrBeast's philanthropic efforts including building wells, can simultaneously have a positive impact.
Private jets are some of the most egregious polluters on Earth, which makes this video particularly alarming. Until the video drops, it's unclear how much the contestants will take MrBeast up on the unlimited fuel. No matter the case, any trips purely for entertainment purposes seem wasteful and unnecessary. It's also unclear how all of the carbon pollution would be offset, if at all.
An X user properly summed up much of the internet's sentiment: "I miss when he gave random people money, not airplanes."
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