The world’s most popular YouTube star is suing the company behind his fast food chain after fans called the food “low quality” and “inedible”.
Jimmy Donaldson, known to his subscribers as MrBeast, partnered with Florida-based Virtual Dining Concepts to launch MrBeast Burger in 2020.
He is known for his big-money competitions and expensive stunts, as well as his philanthropy.
Mr Donaldson claims the company is harming his brand and reputation by providing low-quality products and customer experience.
He is asking a judge to allow him to terminate the account.
The lawsuit claims “Virtual Dining Concepts was more focused on rapidly expanding the business as a way to pitch the virtual restaurant model to other celebrities for its own benefit, it was not focused on controlling the quality of the MrBeast Burger customer experience and products”.
It says customers received orders which were “delivered late, in unbranded packaging, fail to include the ordered items, and in some instances, were inedible”.
Mr Donaldson’s lawyers submitted examples of hundreds of online reviews about the food, including screenshots and links to YouTube reviews, as well as viral images of customers saying they were served raw meat.
In some of the complaints Mr Donaldson was blamed for the poor service.
“Customers have referred to the burgers as being ‘disgusting,’ ‘revolting,’ and ‘inedible,'” the complaint states.
“They have claimed that ‘it is sad that MrBeast would put his name on this’, ‘MrBeast is being cancelled over burgers’; ‘never had something so nasty’; ‘inaccurate marketing’; ‘Orlando’s worst burger’; ‘big name, poor food’; ‘very upsetting for the high price’; and ‘likely the worst burger I have ever had’.”
The lawsuit states MrBeast Burger generated “millions of dollars” but “MrBeast has not received a dime”.
It claims because of the poor customer service experience and poor quality of items served “MrBeast’s reputation and brand has, indeed, been materially and irreparably harmed.”
Mr Donaldson has responded to his fans when asked about the partnership.
“Is @MrBeastBurger done?” one asked.
Mr Donaldson replied: “Yeah, the problem with Beast Burger is I can’t guarantee the quality of the order. When working with other restaurants it’s impossible to control it sadly.”
MrBeast currently has around 172 million subscribers on YouTube, making it the second-most subscribed channel and the most subscribed non-brand channel.
Sky News has contacted Virtual Dining Concepts for comment.
Sir Rod Stewart has defended his support for Ukraine after he appeared to be booed as photos of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were shown at a concert in Germany.
Reacting to the jeers from the crowd on Monday, Sir Rob said he has supported the Ukrainian people since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
“From arranging for members of my family to take supplies to the country, to renting a house in the UK for a Ukrainian family, as well as employing two Ukrainians as part of my touring crew,” he said.
“So yes, I do support Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine, and I will continue to do so.
The singer ended the statement by saying he is having “the time of my life playing for German audiences, sharing some special memories” and is looking forward to playing his remaining dates there.
Daniel Radcliffe has won his first Tony Award and admitted it was “one of the best experiences” of his life at a ceremony in New York which saw big wins for The Outsiders and Stereophonic.
The 34-year-old star of the Harry Potter movies picked up the award at the 77th annual event, which recognises excellence in Broadway theatre, for his role in the revival of Merrily We Roll Along.
After performing with the cast of the show on stage at the Lincoln Centre’s David H Koch Theatre, Radcliffe appeared shocked to win the award for best actor in a featured role in a musical.
“This has been one of the best experiences of my life,” Radcliffe said.
He thanked the late George Furth and Stephen Sondheim “for writing this unbelievable show” in 1981, the songs of which he described as “a gift to get to sing every night”.
He also said it was an “honour” to share the stage with co-stars Lindsay Mendez and Jonathan Groff in the musical, which charts the turbulent relationship between three lifelong friends.
The Outsiders, based on the SE Hinton book about rival gangs in 1960s Oklahoma, won three awards including best new musical – and landed producer Angelina Jolie her first Tony.
Stereophonic, the play about a Fleetwood Mac-like band recording an album over a turbulent year, won best new play and scooped the night’s most total awards with five.
The star-studded ceremony also saw Nick Jonas, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Hudson, Idina Menzel, and Cynthia Erivo among the attendees, while there was a surprise performance from Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.
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Radcliffe’s Merrily We Roll Along co-star Groff won best actor in a musical – while British director Maria Friedman collected the gong for best revival of a musical alongside her producer sister Sonia.
The ceremony kicked off with a first-time win for Succession’s Jeremy Strong, who triumphed in the best actor in a play category for An Enemy Of The People.
Sarah Paulson won best actress in a play for her role in Appropriate, a dark family drama-turned-comedy from playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.
Theatre veteran Kecia Lewis picked up her first Tony for best featured actress in musical Hell’s Kitchen.
In an emotional speech, Lewis recalled how she “walked into the Imperial Theatre to begin my Broadway career at 18 years old”.
She added: “This moment is the one I dreamed for most of those 40 years, so I say to everyone who can hear my voice – don’t give up.”
To win a Tony – short for Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre –means a winner is a quarter of the way towards becoming among the few to gain an EGOT, the so-called “grand slam” of American show business, achieved by those who also win an Oscar, Emmy and Grammy.
Sir Rod Stewart appeared to be booed as photos of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were shown at a concert in Germany.
The 79-year-old singer, who has spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was playing at Leipzig’s Quarterback Immobilien Arena on Friday.
Before performing his 1991 hit Rhythm Of My Heart – which he calls a war song and has dedicated to Kyiv in recent shows – the Ukrainian flag was projected on screen behind Sir Rod.
Images of Mr Zelenskyy were then shown, prompting loud boos, shouts, and whistles from the crowd.
Videos from social media show the crowd appearing to jeer as Sir Rod salutes the Ukrainian president.
“Words couldn’t describe what we were watching,” he told the Daily Mirror at the time. “The bombing of innocent children, the bombing of hospitals and playgrounds.
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“Like everyone else, we were completely beside ourselves. I don’t wish that on anyone. This is evil, pure evil.”