MrBeast is under fire once again, and this time it has nothing to do with his videos. Instead, the YouTuber was accused of being a scab for breaching SAG-AFTRA strike guidelines. However, he argued that he’s done nothing wrong.
MrBeast went on to Twitter to clear his name after he promoted the upcoming children’s movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. He claimed that his promotion was part of a signed contract agreement made before the strikes, which means he’s allowed to follow through with his obligations, as per SAG-AFTRA influencer rules.
MrBeast also added that as part of his support for actors and writers, he will be donating to the Actor’s Guild. It’s currently unknown how much he will be donating, or if it would match what Dwayne Johnson gave. But for someone with a reported net worth of $25 million, he should be able to give enough to support protesters in their time of need.
SAG-AFTRA rules dictate that influencers should fulfill their contract obligations to promote struck work if an agreement was made before July 14, 2023. This means that MrBeast can promote the film, then, based on his claim that the deal was signed before the protests.
However, people still claimed that he still crossed the picket line because not only did he promote TMNT, but he was also starring in it. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles revealed on Twitter that the YouTuber played “Times Square Guy.” Not really a huge role, but he is credited for his voiceover work.
Critics argued that MrBeast wouldn’t be promoting the project if he was a guild member. They also believe that if he is really pro-union, he still shouldn’t have made the post on his Instagram since Paramount is a struck company.
Influencers enter a weird grey area when it comes to what they can and can not do during the strikes. For example, there was plenty of mixed information going around about cosplaying, leading up to San Diego Comic-Con 2023.
Content creators are encouraged not to take sponsorship deals with struck companies during the striking period, especially if they want to be part of the guild sometime in the future. Hopefully, MrBeast’s social media activities don’t put him on bad terms with the guild.