Mr. Beast's latest charity stunt draws criticism of the American health care system - NBC News

Mr. Beast, a YouTuber known for his extravagant gifts and philanthropic stunts, paid for 1,000 surgeries to dainty "curable blindness" successful his astir caller video. Though galore viewers praised him, the stunt drew mixed reactions connected societal media.

Some critics questioned whether Mr. Beast's acts of kindness are conscionable for the views. Others wondered wherefore the country is truthful inaccessible, utilizing Mr. Beast's video arsenic a catalyst to sermon wellness attraction successful the U.S.

Mr. Beast — whose existent sanction is Jimmy Donaldson — did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

In his video posted Sunday, Donaldson said that galore radical who person cataracts could beryllium "cured" with a 10-minute surgery. Cataracts, which tin obscure imaginativeness by clouding the lens of a person's eye, are 1 of the starring causes of imaginativeness impairment and blindness, according to the World Health Organization.

"We person each the exertion to hole it," Mr. Beast said, by replacing the clouded earthy lens with a wide artificial one.

"Unfortunately, astir fractional the colonisation with curable blindness doesn't person entree to this surgery," helium said. So I wanted to supply this to arsenic galore radical arsenic possible."

The creator’s video is the latest successful a drawstring of extravagant — and wide criticized — stunts.

In 2021, helium hosted a “real-life Squid Game,” inspired by the South Korean Netflix drama, that followed impoverished participants arsenic they competed successful life-or-death “games” for a accidental to triumph a fortune. Winners of Mr. Beast’s contention contended successful nonfatal challenges successful hopes of winning $456,000. Though his video received hundreds of millions of views, galore criticized it for missing the constituent of the show, which was a critique of the wealthiness disparity successful Korea.

Donaldson is besides known for his charitable videos. His 2nd channel, Beast Philanthropy, donates each of its gross to assorted charitable causes.

His latest video, however, has prompted some online to impeach him of being "charitable for views."

“There’s a realization that we’ve moved to the autochthonal advertizing exemplary of charity,” a Twitter user wrote. "We tin ne'er again untangle acts of kindness from marque building."

“It’s the ne'er ending rhythm of contented instauration that makes Mr. Beast consciousness insidious,” they Twitter idiosyncratic successful a abstracted tweet. “The underlying conception that if the camera wasn’t connected to provender the instrumentality thing would happen. The dystopian thought that we’re reliant connected YouTube views alternatively of competent authorities for assistance.”

Others online did not knock Donaldson directly, but expressed vexation implicit the information that the video adjacent exists.

Twitch streamer and governmental pundit Hasan Piker called it a "deeply, profoundly frustrating concept" successful a recent stream.

"I watched the video and I'm filled with rage, that we unopen disconnected entree to a 10-minute process due to the fact that we paywalled it and decided that immoderate radical conscionable simply can't get it," Piker said. "It is truthful insanely frustrating that it's up to, like, 1 YouTube feline to determine to marque contented retired of it, that radical who are excessively mediocre conscionable can't ... see."

Artist Brandon Bird tweeted that helium believes that successful a "healthy society," specified a stunt would not request to exist.

“People would simply get country erstwhile they needed it," helium wrote, "neither misfortune nor acts of kindness would beryllium paraded for views, and (something I deliberation is being under-remarked upon) you wouldn’t request to beryllium megarich to bash thing good.”

In a tweet connected Monday, Donaldson alluded to the backlash toward the video.

He wrote: "Twitter — Rich radical should assistance others with their money

Me — Okay, I’ll usage my wealth to assistance radical and I committedness to springiness distant each my wealth earlier I die. Every azygous penny.

Twitter — MrBeast bad."