YouTube star MrBeast calls claims against co-host Ava Kris Tyson 'disgusting' as she denies grooming claims

Tyson, aged 28, has denied allegations of sending inappropriate messages to a minor, who was said to be 13 years old, when she was aged 20.

She announced on Tuesday (July 23) she had "mutually decided it's best I permanently step away from all things MrBeast and social media to focus on my family and mental health".

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, then addressed the allegations in a post on X on Thursday (July 25).

Writing to his 30 million followers, he wrote: "Over the last few days, I've become aware of the serious allegations of Ava Tyson's behaviour online and I am disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts.

He continued to say that he was carrying out his own investigation in to what happened. "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.

He went on: "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.

"I will allow the independent investigators the necessary time to conduct a comprehensive investigation and will take any further actions based on their findings."

Tyson's full statement from earlier this week read: "I would like to apologise for any of my past behaviour or comments if it hurt or offended anyone. It was not my intent."

She added: "I never groomed anyone. The person who gets brought up in these accusations has vocally supported that they are false. 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.

She also insisted that the incident was based on “old humour” and “bad edgy jokes”. "To lump these two factors together to create a narrative that my behaviour extended beyond bad edgy jokes is disgusting and did not happen.

“In past years, I have learned that my old humour is not acceptable. I cannot change who I was, but I can continue to work on myself. I don't want these accusations to impact the hundreds of people who work at MrBeast, which is why I have stepped away."

The allegations against Tyson, who underwent hormone replacement therapy and changed her name from Kris Tyson to Ava Kris last year, first came out on a YouTube video which was published in June.

The alleged victim, however, said that videos claiming Tyson groomed him "are massive lies and twisting the truth". He said: "Ava never did anything wrong, and just made a few edgy jokes. I was never exploited or taken advantage of.

"This situation takes away from children who are actively being exploited everyday online. I am not a victim of anything being claimed in these videos or at all."

Tyson has appeared on Donaldson's YouTube channel since it started 12 years ago. She's been involved in many of the prank and challenge videos on the channel and was the main host of the Beast Racts channel, which records the pair’s responses to viral videos online.  Since 2012, the MrBeast channel has grown to be the most-subscribed channel on YouTube with more than 300 million subscribers. Donaldson was named by Forbes as the highest-earning creator of 2023 and highest-paid YouTube star in 2022. He is estimated to have earned $54 million (around £42 million) last year.