Amelia Jones
YouTuber MrBeast has responded to being 'canceled' for reportedly purchasing almost all the houses on one street for his staff to live in.
The popular content creator, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, has reportedly bought up multiple homes on a cul-de-sac in the southeastern suburbs of Greenville, North Carolina for his employees and family to live in.
MrBeast has built a reputation for stunts, pranks, cash giveaways and philanthropic endeavors like providing hearing aids for 1,000 deaf people.
Now he's gifted his workers stress-free accommodation near to work to cut out a productivity-draining commute.
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However, the 25-year-old's usually loyal followers were a bit taken aback by the community, which is close to where the YouTuber grew up.
One tweeted: “That sounds very culty lol.”
“The next Jonestown will happen here,” darkly quipped another.
A third said: “Imagine losing your job and your house on the same day. That’s what company towns are. Your employer owns every aspect of your life.”
But it wasn't all negativity from his loyal fanbase.
One tweeted: "There's always someone who wants to ruin the fun, right? I don't see anything wrong with helping people in need without strings attached."
A second said: "You could rid of the entire world of debt and someone somewhere would find something negative to say about it. Nothing you can do."
A third said the haters were clutching at straws: "They really scraping at the bottom if the barrel to cancel this man."
Now, MrBeast himself has taken to his keyboard to respond to the backlash.
He joked to his 20.4m followers: "Only I could get canceled for giving people a place to live with no strings attached..
All these company town tweets make no sense, I was just helping some people."
MrBeast purchased his own 3,000 square feet, four-bedroom home - the first on the street — in 2018 for a surprisingly modest $320K (£256K), according to reports from The New York Post.
He then began buying other houses on the same street off-market and above market value.
There remains one hold out house on the street, which has been attributed to the family wanting their kids to finish school before they move.
Aaron Bowden, who sold his home to MrBeast last year, said that MrBeast was transparent about his plans for the cul-de-sac.
He told The New York Post: “We negotiated back and forth and it had to be worth my while. And he wasn’t gonna buy it, if it wasn’t worth his while."