MrBeast hits back at criticism over viral video curing blindness

YouTube star MrBeast is hitting back at his critics after receiving blowback for curing blindness for 1,000 people in a viral video.

Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson is the most subscribed content creator on YouTube, successfully beating out PewDiePie’s years-long record in 2022.

Donaldson’s videos almost always achieve viral status and usually involve some sort of high-stakes challenge, expensive project, or extremely charitable act.

His latest act of kindness saw the YouTuber foot the bill for life-changing cataract removal surgery for 1,000 blind people around the world. Throughout the video, MrBeast gave away large amounts of cash (and, of course, Teslas) to strangers, and even made a $100,000 donation to the cause.

The video racked up over 49 million views just days after being uploaded — but quite a few viewers were critical of his philanthropic project, taking issue with the creator for not calling out the injustices of the US healthcare system in the upload.

A notable post on Twitter even called MrBeast’s video “demonic,” while others labeled it “charity p*rn” and accused him of using people experiencing blindness to get views.

Even Twitch streamer Hasan seemed a bit off-put by the video, saying he was “deeply frustrated” by the United States’ healthcare problems, noting that the people in MrBeast’s video had to rely on a rich person to pay for their life-altering surgery but couldn’t afford it.

According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, Small Incision Manual Cataract Surgery costs hospitals less than $16 for materials. However, the average price of cataract surgery in the US can range anywhere from $1,600 to $2,600 — a huge amount in comparison to the cost of materials.

MrBeast addresses healthcare issues after blindness surgery criticism

A day after the discourse surrounding his video went viral, MrBeast appeared to address the issue in a Tweet, asking why the government doesn’t pay for such surgeries.

“I don’t understand why curable blindness is a thing,” he wrote. “Why don’t governments step in and help? Even if you’re thinking purely from a financial standpoint it’s hard to see how they don’t ROI on taxes from people being able to work again.”

That’s not all; a little while later, MrBeast admitted that he was surprised his video performed so well, noting that it’s gained 50 million views in just two days.

It wasn’t long before the YouTuber posted a tweet directly calling out his critics.

“Twitter – Rich people should help others with their money,” he wrote. “Me – Okay, I’ll use my money to help people and I promise to give away all my money before I die. Every single penny. Twitter – MrBeast bad.

Several other high-profile creators responded in support of MrBeast, with names like KSI saying, “Twitter is just full of sad, stupid people.”

MrBeast polls fans on US Presidency campaign after blindness video criticism

MrBeast had a lot to say the day after his video took the net by storm. He even posted a poll asking users they’d vote for him if he ran for President – and thus far, the majority voted “yes.”

This isn’t the first time MrBeast has raised the possibility of a Presidential campaign. In fact, he’s considered it a few times in the past, most recently saying he’d be open to running once he hits 40 years old.

“I wanna try to make a ton of money and then just give it all away right before I announce my campaign,” he said in a 2022 interview. “Imagine I have 10 billion dollars and I just give it all away, and I’m just like, ‘I can’t be bought.’ I had it all. Give it all away. That’s pretty powerful.”

“And then, instead of giving in to lobbyists or agendas, I just like, do whatever’s good for the American people. Sounds like it’d be a good idea.”