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YouTube star MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has responded to criticism over his latest high-stakes video, which showed a contestant escaping a blazing building for a chance to win $500,000.
The 27-year-old uploaded the video, titled "Would You Risk Dying for $500,000?" on September 27. It featured a stuntman named Eric navigating seven fire-based "death traps," including leaping through rings of fire, withstanding fiery explosions, and escaping from a mock-up house engulfed in flames. Eric eventually completed the challenges, walking away with $350,000.
While the video has already surpassed 45 million views, many online viewers were unsettled by its extreme nature. Some described the spectacle as "dystopian" and "humiliating," while others raised concerns about copycat behavior.
In response to the backlash, Donaldson emphasized that safety was paramount during filming. "In case there's any concern about the safety of the stuntman contestant, I just wanted to mention that we take safety extremely seriously," he wrote in a pinned YouTube comment. He explained that "every challenge was tested by multiple stuntmen," with a full rescue team on standby, including "firefighters, EMTs and divers equipped with an ambulance and fire truck."
He added that the flames were controlled by a professional "pyro team" and backed by "multiple fire suppression methods on every challenge to ensure we could essentially turn off the fire if there was ever an issue." He concluded, "But our stunt coordinator did an amazing job as always, and none of these systems were ever needed. Just wanted to be transparent with you all since I saw some concern."
On X, he reiterated, "If you're curious obviously we had ventilation for the smoke and a kill switch to cut off the fires. We had professionals test this extensively and the guy in the video as stated is a professional stunt man. I take safety more serious than you could ever imagine."
With more than 440 million subscribers, MrBeast remains YouTube's most-watched and highest-paid creator. However, this fiery stunt joins a list of controversies surrounding his large-scale productions, from lawsuits linked to his Beast Games series to international disputes over filming locations.
