YouTuber MrBeast has 182 million followers on the platform, but that doesn’t protect him from criticism.
While his videos have allowed him to do a number of philanthropic acts, such as planting 20 million trees, removing 30 million pounds of plastic from the ocean, and giving millions of dollars to charity, not all of his choices have received unanimous approval.
In a recent video, MrBeast detonates a massive amount of explosives and tips a Lamborghini into what’s described as the world’s largest shredder — and it’s proved to be a little controversial.
“What do you think about the new MrBeast video?” asked one Reddit user, who posted to the r/Anticonsumption sub-Reddit that welcomes criticism of consumer culture. “What are your views on him exploding 110 grand worth of explosives and the pollution it created? Also the [Lamborghini] shredding part.”
On the explosives stunt, one Redditor said, “I’m not really worried about the pollution one guy makes for YouTube videos, considering the charity and nice things he does for people.”
It’s unclear if the pollution from the explosions was particularly troubling, nor if the value was what the commenter estimated.
Environmental damage from explosions comes in the form of debris, wastewater contamination, and hazardous materials released when buildings are struck, such as asbestos, industrial chemicals, and fuels, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
In this case, the cloud of smoke would have harmed air quality as other explosions would, but it was likely negligible and wasn’t in an open area, so perhaps it isn’t a huge concern.
But some commenters were bothered by the Lamborghini stunt.
“Please tell me they didn’t shred a Lamborghini,” one user said. “Unforgivable, moronic.”
While many observed that MrBeast made clear the Lamborghini was decommissioned, there were still a number of parts that could have been recycled rather than destroyed.
One Redditor said that while the action was perhaps a little foolish, it’s nothing when considering the grand scheme of things.
“The Lamborghini at the end was broken. Is it wasteful? Sure,” they said. “But the actions of a YouTube channel are nothing compared to the institutional waste of corporations.”
While MrBeast has undoubtedly done many good things for people and the environment, it’s a reminder that being mindful of the consequences of your actions is never a bad thing.
Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
