this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
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Unpopular Opinion

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He is an evil individual who fails to address systemic issues or assist people for their own benefit.

As a game show host, he humiliates and exploits participants, boasting about his own virtues without any regard for the contestants.

Examples:

I believe legal intervention is necessary to limit his actions towards people and prevent him from exploiting them for personal gain.

Quick note: while I believe that results of some of his videos is good ( which he did to show how good of a person he is), that does not change the facts about his evil videos, the same way bezoz donations does not make him a good person.

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[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 121 points 8 months ago (5 children)

I only know a little bit about Mr. Beast and saw a couple of his early videos about giving away thousands of dollars in cash to homeless people. I haven't followed what he did after that except heard some controversy about him being involved in either hamburgers or chocolate (or both?).

However, if THIS is your metric...

He is an evil individual who fails to address systemic issues or assist people for their own benefit.

...it begs the question, what are you doing to address systemic issue or assist people for their own benefit. If nothing, does that mean you are evil using your logic?

[–] pikasaurX4@lemm.ee 64 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

A fair point, but I think OP means that this guy already has the means to make a difference but chooses to dangle it in front of needy people and make them dance for it rather than tackle poverty problems from a different angle

Not sure what OP would do with this guy’s wealth, but I’m sure there isnt a magic wand Mr Beast could wave to solve poverty even if he wanted to

[–] Betch@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago (1 children)

but I think OP means that this guy already has the means to make a difference but chooses to dangle it in front of needy people and make them dance for it rather than tackle poverty problems from a different angle

But then if he's not getting any returns from it, it's going to dry out.

[–] pikasaurX4@lemm.ee 20 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Well the returns he gets are the views on his videos. People love to watch people fight to survive. So he pits them against each other in order to draw eyes (and therefore advertisers) while positioning himself as a “humanitarian” making “donations” out of the goodness of his heart. Obviously it’s working because his wealth is growing, not shrinking. That’s part of what I think makes it “evil” in OP’s eyes. If you’re profiting off of it, is it really charitable?

Edit: Oh wait, I can’t read. I see what you are saying. Disregard the above. I think you and I agree there. I don’t think it would be easy for him to just give all his money away for free because then it would be gone and people would still be poor

I’m just trying to play devil’s advocate

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[–] Death_Equity@lemmy.world 34 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The Beast Burger thing is largely a brand protection thing and disputes with the company the handles the operations and logistics of it.

Beast Burger did help to keep restaurants open during the pandemic(expressed intent of the project) and the money made was either reinvested in marketing Beast Burger or donated to charities dealing with food insecurity.

He has literally given people back their sight and dug wells in Africa. The only way the people who are negative of him will be happy is if he gives away every dime he has, which means he won't be able to keep helping people. Can't please everybody, especially when you are making millions helping less than everybody.

Mr. Beast has harnessed the worst parts of modern capitalism to help the most left behind. Profiting while helping people is better than profiting off of hurting people, e.g. raising the cost of insulin.

[–] Xanis@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Seems to me that in order to continue helping people, he needs to play within the confines of the rules of the system he is working in. Gotta make that money to give that money away. He doesn't appear to be doing it by allowing some 12-70 year old Amazon warehouse slave get heat stroke, or some other god awful situation. Apart from envy why are people complaining again?

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[–] AGD4@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago (6 children)

OP isn't profitting off anybody's misfortune like Mr. Beast.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 18 points 8 months ago (5 children)

It's not a virtue to "not profit off of things". I don't care about Mr. Beast and a lot of charity is just whitewashing someone's legacy. But you can simply "not profit" by sitting in your underwear eating Cheetos. Does that help anyone?

Still, these dumb game shows are better than a lot of entertainment. Are you equally angry at "The Price is Right" or "Wheel of Fortune"? People go nuts about a basic ass car that they would normally shrug their shoulders at.

If you want to be angry at something, pick "Fear Factor". That made people do a lot of crazy shit. There's a reason it's cancelled.

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[–] Betch@lemmy.world 53 points 8 months ago (9 children)

I really don't care about MrBeast or his channel and obviously he's doing it for the views and to grow his brand but, evil? That's quite a stretch. If that's considered "evil" then we're all evil.

As others have mentioned, what are you doing?

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[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 44 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Well I think of it this way.

If Mr beast didn't exist:

A few thousand people wouldn't have been embarrassed on the internet

Tens of thousands of people wouldn't have been given access to clean water.

Hundreds would have never received medical care.

Amazing charities like ocean clean up and team trees would have never gotten the level of support they did.

Many were lifted out of poverty both on main channel, games channel, and philanthropy. They wouldn't be.

Thousands wouldn't be employed in jobs they like.

So given the fact that we are in the system we are in, I'm glad we have him.

As annoying as it is, to help people, you need money. People who help people without monetizing it, run out of money. It's just what it is. He's playing the game, and unlike 99% of billionaires, the game involves enriching others.

I'm fine with a system where building a home for the needy rewards you with the money to do it again. Better than the alternative.

[–] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 44 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (8 children)

We shouldn't be depending on rich people to do things the government should be doing. The more they do this, the less the government will do their actual job.

See: Elon Musk talking about a hyper loop as soon as California starts considering a large public rail system, effectively destroying the rail system plan and allowing him to sell more cars for way longer.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 25 points 8 months ago

Except that was malicious and blocked a solution.

Beast isn't preventing in a solution. He went and gave water to villages that had been searching and begging for a solution for years. He gave cataract surgery to people who couldn't afford it. He gave them exactly what they wanted, not something worse then didn't deliver.

In a better world, either Mr Beast couldn't exist because people couldn't have 100,000 times more wealth thqn others, or there would be no one for him to help.

We don't live in that better world. To me it looks like the world is a better place because of him. He's helped many directly, and inspired others to help. The harm he has done seems to either be hypothetical, or claiming people were harmed who they themselves say are fine.

So it seems like the world is better because he is in it.

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[–] Ilflish@lemm.ee 12 points 8 months ago

Agreed. No need to make him a scapegoat. He's just supplying money from corporations into the hands of people who could use it. It would be better if we didn't have to do it this way but I'd rather that then corporations just keep the money.

[–] Default_Defect@midwest.social 41 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Something about him rubs me the wrong way, I can't put it into words. I won't be surprised if we find out he eats people or fucks kids or something.

[–] slumlordthanatos@lemmy.world 40 points 8 months ago

That fake grin he plasters all over his videos tickles that "uncanny valley" part of my brain.

That, and many years of working in hospitality has taught me that the people who make the biggest deal about their grace and charity tend to secretly be the shittiest people. There are exceptions, and I don't have any proof Mr. Beast is a secret asshole, but the pattern is there, and it remains to be seen if he's a part of it.

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[–] Muffi@programming.dev 38 points 8 months ago (4 children)

He's a man-child with too many resources. There was recently an interview with him, where he just suddenly left in anger, because a set piece was not the way he imagined it. Instead of trying to communicate his disappointment he just got angry and left. You could see on his crew that this is how he acts all the time, and that they were fed up with having a child as a boss.

There is something wrong with how we have structured society when a POS like him can get that successful.

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 19 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Do you have a link to the interview? I've always been suspicious of him because he never seems "off". Always the same click bait friendly face.

[–] Custoslibera@lemmy.world 18 points 8 months ago

Who would have guessed the man who found success by counting to 100,000 isn’t a well developed people manager and leader?

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[–] ech@lemm.ee 37 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I've said much the same many times (I wouldn't go quite so far too say he's "evil", but he's very clearly not a good person) and it's wild how many people will leap to the defense of the multi-millionaire. "He's helping people" they say, as if he's not explicitly aiming to enrich himself further with even his most philanthropic videos. That he did a straight up squid game enactment is completely tasteless.

[–] randomaside@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think you've hit it. He's not evil as much as opportunistic and amoral.

I saw this mini documentary about him where he simply admitted he would do anything to be famous. If the documentary is to be believed, he started filming random acts of kindness because he tried everything else and failed to achieve his goal of being famous.

[–] pachrist@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I have always felt he is a bit of a psychopath. Not the evil, serial killer TV trope psychopath, but still one with that blinded, single vision, relentless pursuit mentality.

From watching interviews, he's absolutely the epitome of grind culture, but he's not doing it for cash or influence. He seems to legitimately be doing it because he wants to see how far he can go with it. But, he's so calculated and single minded with it, if feels borderline unhinged on the outside looking in. He's probably not trying to make a skin suit, but if he thinks it'll get views, he'll do anything.

[–] dan1101@lemm.ee 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I don't know anything about him but he has that cold look in his eyes. Sorta like Terrence Howard and Kanye West. But with a fake smile. Creeps me out.

[–] 5in1k@lemm.ee 33 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Yeah I don’t care if he does an amount of good. I just don’t like the guy, there’s something off.

[–] Mechanite@lemmy.world 17 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I think it's plainly just sketchy when someone is doing good things but making it extremely publicly open and obvious to anyone that it's happening. There's an argument to be made around publicity = ads = more funding for similar stuff but it still feels a little icky. Not to say his contributions are negligible of course

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[–] thesporkeffect@lemmy.world 26 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (5 children)

Oh shit, this is close to the perfect unpopular opinion.

Does MrBeast employ any PR services that do astroturfing?

Edit to add: MrBeast is a fascist. If I wind up choked to death on some ghost kitchen MrBeast branded meal, avenge me

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[–] Fubarberry@sopuli.xyz 24 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Honestly a lot of people complain about Mr Beast, saying that his charity/etc is done purely for attention and views.

But I figure there are a ton of high profile YouTubers who make a ton of money, and just spend it on themselves or doing elaborate set ups for videos. It seems weird that Mr Beast gets more criticized for doing some good than all the comparative YouTubers who are doing nothing good. It's like by trying to do anything good he's gotten himself judged by a much higher standard than everyone else.

[–] ShunkW@lemmy.world 22 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I think that performative charity pisses people off more than people who don't pretend to be a philanthropist.

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[–] mean_bean279@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago

In a world with Andrew Tate and Joe Rogan OP goes after the most popular YouTuber simply because he makes videos that sometimes only help poor people a little. Instead of actively corrupting our youth and making men more likely to commit violent acts.

[–] ech@lemm.ee 7 points 8 months ago (7 children)

Those other YouTubers don't make their fortunes convincing much poorer people to make fools of themselves for a miniscule sliver of what beast is making by monetizing it.

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[–] Rookwood@lemmy.world 23 points 8 months ago

Exploitation is the essence of capitalism. There are worse than Mr Beast.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 22 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I had a discussion here on Lemmy about him and was pretty roundly downvoted. His exploitation of the recipients of his actions to make more money to repeat the feat really just rubs me the wrong way. Yeah, he does good. He also gets really rich off of it. No different than charities that consume a far larger portion of their income than ever gets delivered to those they help. Do they help? Sure. But they pay themselves first.

Evil? No. I don’t think so. Many charities just take care of basic needs without messing with the system that created the problem. Mr Beast is self-aggrandizing and profitable? Sure.

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[–] HaywardT@lemmy.sdf.org 17 points 8 months ago

A bum fight organizer and promoter.

[–] PoliticallyIncorrect@lemmy.world 16 points 8 months ago (2 children)

He is just indoctrinating kids into being materialist muppets..

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[–] gearheart@lemm.ee 14 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I always see Mr. Beast get a lot of hate every once in a while....and I get that he has a accumulated an insane amount of wealth and fame as a kid which has given him a "unique" look on this world.

But as far as we know the know... Now in adulthood, the guy has yet to actually do anything horrible.

I mean the only thing he is guilty of is having a massive following of mindless people that feed him more eyes.

Yet people keep constantly hating on him for this. Idk if they wish they had his money, fame or what the deal is.

I see true evils happening in the world all the time yet someone always posts this focused hate on this Mr. Beast dude.

I don't think the hate is gonna stop until he is as destitute as the rest of us.

Being in obnoxious is not a crime.

Majority of jobs here in the USA exploit and humiliate a lot more than any of these videos.

That's all for my rant. Ty.

[–] nothead@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

I can guarantee you and I are on vastly opposite ends of a wide variety of opinions and views, but one thing everyone should be able to collectively agree on is this right here. Mr beast needs to be purged from the internet.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

How's that saying go again? Something like

"If you do good, while having evil intentions, and the outcome is still overall good, it's good?"

The reasons he helps people matter not, since he actually is helping people.

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[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Legal interventions in what way, he hasnt broke a law.

Its just boring virtue signalling.

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[–] EtherealMoon@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Feels like anyone who criticizes this guy has never seen a gameshow before.

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