YouTube personality Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a billionaire MrBeast, responded to the criticism he received after his latest giveaway.
MrBeast is known for his giveaways and expensive stunts, but his latest video gained more traction than even he could've imagined.
In the video—which was posted just a few days ago and already has over 71 million views—MrBeast revealed he "cured 1,000 people's blindness" by paying for surgeries they couldn't afford.
While the act was undoubtedly generous with some claiming they now see better than they have their whole lives, it garnered a conversation surrounding healthcare in the United States as well as the actual degree of selflessness displayed by MrBeast.
The first eye-opening piece of information is that the surgery takes only about 10 minutes and the only reason these people waited their entire lives for a 10-minute surgery is because of the $3500 price tag.
Sadly, many insurance plans don't cover the "luxury" surgery and Medicare only covers about 80%... only if it's approved and the deductible has been met.
Mr Beast even tweeted.
"I don't understand why curable blindness is a thing. Why don't governments step in and help?"
"Even if you're thinking purely from a financial standpoint it's hard to see how they don't roi on taxes from people being able to work again."
Many viewers of the video shared their outrage that 1,000 people had more hopes in a YouTuber than their own healthcare.
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Others were upset for a different reason, though, claiming that Donaldson 1) doesn't use his own money for these stunts but rather his charities and/or corporate sponsors and 2) one rich person "reeking of capitalism" is providing for those wronged by the healthcare system which is overshadowing the needed conversation of universal healthcare.
MrBeast had some responses for those claiming that his latest stunt was less than altruistic and that he profited from his act of generosity.
He made some valid points in his first tweet.
"It did raise awareness and get tons of people talking."
"Also what profits?" The average MrBeast video lost $1,500,000 last year lol."
His comments did not make matters any better amongst his viewers.
It seemed that MrBeast gave up on trying to defend his video and instead posted a snarky Tweet in response to the backlash.
"Twitter - Rich people should help others with their money."
"Me - Okay, I'll use my money to help people and I promise to give away all my money before I die. Every single penny."
"Twitter - MrBeast bad."
This one actually garnered some sympathy from fans.
And some pointed out that the outrage wasn't a personal attack but rather misdirected anger.
MrBeast has yet to comment or post any further, but it appears that his viewers have given him a lot to think about.
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