NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Online video production company MrBeast said Friday it has fired somewhere between 5 to 10 employees following an investigation into the YouTube empire's workplace culture.
A company spokesman declined to put a precise number on the firings, say which employees were let go or for what reasons. But the shakeup comes as Jimmy Donaldson, who draws millions of views under the MrBeast alias with highly produced stunts and giveaways, deals with accusations of impropriety against himself, his collaborators and others within his multimillion-dollar production company that have threatened his family-friendly image.
Investigators only identified 鈥渟everal isolated instances of workplace harassment and misconduct," according to a two-page letter sent Friday by Alex Spiro, a trial lawyer who led the investigation by white-shoe law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and whose clients have included Jay-Z and Elon Musk.
The nearly three-month probe concluded that there was no basis behind allegations that MrBeast team members committed sexual misconduct or 鈥渒nowingly鈥� employed people with 鈥減roclivities or histories towards illegal or questionable legal conduct."
Spiro said the team interviewed 39 current and former employees. Millions of documents from phones, emails, and messaging platforms including Discord and Slack were also reviewed, according to the letter.
The controversies surrounding the so-called King of YouTube . Ava Tyson, a Donaldson friend and fellow creator accused of sharing inappropriate sexual messages with minors over multiple years, left the channel in July. Also circulated online by YouTuber Rosanna Pansino was a 2017 recording of Donaldson making racist comments and using homophobic slurs.
A preliminary July shoot for his ambitious 鈥淏east Games鈥� Amazon Prime Video show was quickly from some contestants who said they while competing for a $5 million grand prize.
MrBeast in turn has hired new executives, including a head of personnel and a general counsel, according to Spiro, and additional employees are getting 鈥渢argeted training and executive coaching鈥� for undisclosed violations of company policy.
The company 鈥渉as grown exceedingly quickly from a YouTube start-up comprised of a group of talented young individuals to a much larger entity,鈥� Spiro wrote to MrBeast's Board of Directors. 鈥淚t is not uncommon that policies and practices essential in a mature company would lag behind commercial success.鈥�
Donaldson has largely remained silent on the matters. He recently launched a prepacked lunch brand alongside internet personalities Logan Paul and KSI 鈥� marking his latest entrance into the food market after his chocolate bar and burger chain were met with mixed reviews. His 325 million YouTube subscribers have continued to see their feeds filled with outlandish, high-energy videos like the recently titled 鈥�100 Identical Twins Fight For $250,000.鈥�
In a , Donaldson wrote that he 鈥渨as asked to refrain from making public statements to enable a detailed and unbiased investigation.鈥�
Pansino, one of Donaldson鈥檚 most vocal critics, that the findings of 鈥渨orkplace harassment and misconduct鈥� and 鈥渕ultiple firings鈥� mean "it might be time for a bigger investigation.鈥�
Donaldson's level of fame and growth place him in 鈥減retty rare company,鈥� said advertising lawyer Robert Freund, whose practice helps creators resolve disputes. He said he suspects the letter was released in attempt to assure stakeholders 鈥渢hat he's running a professional operation.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see anything fishy or suspicious about what we鈥檝e been presented with here as the public,鈥� Freund told The Associated Press.
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James Pollard, The Associated Press
