Jimmy Donaldson, better known as YouTube superstar MrBeast, sued the “ghost kitchen” company that operated his MrBeast Burger virtual fast-food chain, seeking to end the deal — alleging, among other things, that the burgers it served were called “disgusting,” “revolting” and “inedible” and damaged his reputation.
On Monday, July 31, Donaldson’s Beast Investments filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against affiliates Virtual Dining Concepts and its parent company, seeking a declaratory judgment order that “Beast Investments has the immediate right” to terminate its deal with VDC and asking for unspecified monetary damages.
VDC responded Tuesday to MrBeast’s lawsuit. According to a statement from VDC, Donaldson recently attempted to negotiate a new deal “to serve his own monetary interests. When VDC refused to accede to his bullying tactics to give up more of the brand to him, he filed this ill-advised and meritless lawsuit seeking to undermine the MrBeast Burger brand and terminate his existing contractual obligations without cause.”
VDC continued, “The complaint is riddled with false statements and inaccuracies and is a thinly veiled attempt to distract from Mr. Donaldson’s and Beast Investments’ breaches of the agreements between the parties, including Mr. Donaldson’s recent false, disparaging statements regarding the MrBeast Burger brand and VDC.” It added, “VDC looks forward to being vindicated in court.”
According to Donaldson’s lawsuit, Virtual Dining Concepts “has caused material, irreparable harm to the MrBeast brand and MrBeast’s reputation, not only through its abject failure to ameliorate the significant quality control problems with the virtual business, but also through other material breaches of the agreements with MrBeast.” The complaint alleges, for example, that VDC “repeatedly denied MrBeast his valuable approval rights by posting his name, image, and brand on social media and elsewhere without first obtaining his written approval and consent.”
Moreover, according to Donaldson’s lawsuit, “To be clear, while this business has made millions of dollars, MrBeast has not received a dime.”
The Beast Investments lawsuit claims that more than half of the MrBeast Burger virtual restaurants have less than two out of five stars, well below the median score of four stars, and that there are “literally thousands of negative reviews, articles, and comments from people who are deeply disappointed by the fact that MrBeast would put his name on this product.”
The MrBeast Burger brand, which sells food for delivery and pickup only, launched in December 2020 expanded to 1,700 global locations by the end of 2022.
VDC asserted that Donaldson’s notoriety “has grown exponentially over the life of the MrBeast Burger brand, in part because of the MrBeast Burger brand itself.” The company added that it “takes quality and customer reviews very seriously” and that it “consistently strives to improve quality and customer satisfaction, and any negative customer reviews reflect the experience and opinion of a very small minority of MrBeast Burger customers.”
Orlando, Fla.-based VDC said it retained the law firm of Greenberg Traurig LLC to represent its interests in the pending dispute. “We had hoped Mr. Donaldson would act honorably. Instead, having elevated greed over his word and the truth, he will face the consequences in court when VDC files its claims against him,” the company’s statement said.
MrBeast is the most-followed individual YouTube creator on the platform, with more than 172 million subscribers currently. For 2021, he was estimated to be the highest-earning creator on YouTube, amassing a fanbase for his big-money giveaways and stunts — including his viral reenactment of Netflix hit “Squid Game,” which awarded the winner a $446,000 prize — and an array of charitable initiatives.
Pictured above (l. to r.): Nolan Hansen, Sapnap, MrBeast, Karl Jacobs and Punz at the launch of the first physical MrBeast Burger Restaurant at the American Dream mall on Sept. 4, 2022 in East Rutherford, N.J.
