Bigtime YouTuber MrBeast has addressed the grooming accusations against his longtime collaborator Ava Kris Tyson, saying that he’s “disgusted” and “opposed to such unacceptable acts.”
Tyson, 28, has been accused of sending inappropriate messages to a minor when she was 20. Tyson has strongly denied the allegations.
On Wednesday (July 24), following weeks of pressure from fellow YouTubers and fans, MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, finally made a statement on X.
“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 began.
“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.”
MrBeast, 26, added that he’s allowing the investigators “the necessary time to conduct a comprehensive investigation and will take any further actions based on their findings.”
Last month, a YouTube channel by the name of Prism42 uploaded a video that purported to show screenshots of lewd jokes Tyson allegedly sent to a 13-year-old boy over X (formerly Twitter). It was claimed that Tyson was 20 when she developed a friendship with the minor, who goes by the username @LavaGS. It was also claimed that Tyson met the boy when he was 16 in a “secluded area.”
Tyson denied the allegations on Tuesday (July 23), tweeting: “I never groomed anyone.” She additionally claimed that the person “who gets brought up in these accusations @LavaGS has vocally supported that they are false.”
In a subsequent post, she continued: “Having said that, I humbly apologise to anyone I have hurt with my unacceptable social media posts, past actions, and to those who may feel betrayed by how I used to act online.
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“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,” she wrote.
“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.”
She confirmed that due to 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 previously took to social media to defend Tyson against the grooming accusations, saying that “Ava never did anything wrong and just made a few edgy jokes.”
“This situation takes away from children who are actively being exploited everyday online,” he argued. “I am not a victim of anything being claimed in these videos or at all.”
Responding directly to MrBeast’s recent statement, however, LavaGS commended the YouTube star “for taking this situation seriously and hiring a 3rd party investigator, while also taking the appropriate actions of cutting ties with Ava.”
Confirming again that the “allegations involving my name aren’t true,” he said: “I feel there is still a lot of other allegations that deserve to [be] investigated thoroughly.”
Tyson first joined MrBeast’s channel in 2012. Last March, she came out as transgender and has since been subjected to transphobic attacks online, which MrBeast has continually defended her against.