YouTuber MrBeast has returned to social media having been silent for the last four days after claiming he had been invited to be on the doomed Titan submersible that imploded on its way down to see the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean.
On Thursday, MrBeast posted a picture of himself showing off his dramatic weight loss.
‘Woke up and realized I was obese so I started lifting and walking 12,500 steps a day. Still got a long way to being yoked but I’m happy with my progress so far’, he wrote.
His latest tweet appeared to elicit a response from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
‘Wow – fantastic work. Keep pumping and inspiring people! Let me know if you’re in LA and want to get a lift in,’ the former Mr Universe and California Governor wrote.
It was the first time MrBeast had been heard from since he shared what he claimed was a text in a Twitter posting on Sunday, that purported to show that he had been asked to be on the sub for a mission to see the sunken Titanic wreck.
On Thursday, MrBeast posted a picture of himself showing off his dramatic weight loss which elicited a response from Arnold Schwarzenegger who appeared impressed with his work
MrBeast shared a text in a Twitter post on Sunday that he claimed to show how he was asked to be on the vessel for a mission down to see the famous Titanic wreck
The Titan submersible (above) catastrophically imploded during a dive to the Titanic’s wreckage on the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean, killing the CEO and four paying passengers
Jimmy Donaldson – aka MrBeast – is battling back claims he fabricated a story about receiving an invite to join the Titan sub’s voyage this month – aired in a post to Twitter a few days ago
‘I was invited earlier this month to ride the Titanic submarine, I said no,’ he wrote. ‘Kind of scary that I could have been on it.’
But MrBeast’s claim was immediately called into question after Twitter users questioned why the message box was blue instead of clear – implying that the YouTuber had lied about such an invite and had in fact sent the message to himself.
Others cited the poorly executed cropping of the text – which appeared hastily done.
MrBeast claimed on Sunday it was scary to think he could have been one of the passengers who perished.
Several urged Donaldson – a self-proclaimed philanthropist – to scroll through the messages himself to provide proof of his invite.
A response by MrBeast to the ‘text’ was not included – but in an accompanying caption, the world’s most popular YouTuber, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, claimed to turn it down.
A cursory glance of the comments responding to Thursday’s weight loss posting did not make any further mention of the social media influencer’s previous tweet about the Titan sub invite.
Almost immediately, Twitter users aired their suspicions – questioning why the message box was blue instead of clear, suggested MrBeast sent himself the text. Others cited the conspicuous crop job – which appeared hastily done
On Sunday, there were plenty of questions over the text’s authenticity.
‘Wait… Blue bubble?’ remarked one user – the first of many to point out how on iPhones, texts received from other Apple users are generally clear.
‘How did you manage to receive a blue message on iMessage?’ wrote another, as speculation swirled as to the message’s legitimacy.
‘It is weird how it’s cropped so bad,’ another commented – whereas a more flippant detractor sniped: ‘why is the text receipt blue[?] why are you making this up[?]’
The flood of posts persisted for hours, eventually eliciting a response out of Donaldson – one that claimed the grab came from a screenshot that his friend sent him, after the YouTuber forwarded the alleged correspondence.
‘My friend sent me the screenshot of when he invited me,’ The North Carolina native – who is worth an estimated $500million – wrote: ‘Didn’t think to scroll up and screenshot our old texts myself.’
Even after the assertion, though, many Twitter users remained unconvinced.
His success has been built around extravagant stunts which set him apart from his rivals
Donaldson has also been quick to expand his empire and has struck a deal with Walmart to sell his chocolate bar, Feastables
The 25-year-old is the world’s richest YouTuber, with an estimated net worth of more than $500million.
He is is also the channel’s ‘biggest philanthropist’. His viral videos are based on extravagant stunts in which he offers lavish gifts to unwitting members of the public.
Donaldson himself has credited his success to innovative thinking and calculated risk-taking.
He also has an eye for new opportunities and brand deals, expanding his YouTube empire into the food and drink sector.
It started small, giving away cash prizes to members of his community, but quickly gathered momentum and by 2018 he was donating $100,000 worth of products to a homeless shelter.
He has since repeated the dose to an Uber driver, a waitress, and people in parking lots.
In one video, he dropped $20,000 out of a drone and gave a pizza man the house he was delivering to as a tip.
Gareth Boyd, head of growth at Finty.com, says Donaldson outgrew other YouTubers because his stunts, which are not confined to charitable acts, ‘were totally and utterly different to anything else anyone was doing’.
‘Going to a football training ground and seeing who can hold onto an airplane the longest – what other TV show does that?’ he added.
One recent project includes MrBeast Burger, a delivery service that sold more than a million burgers before Donaldson had even uploaded a video.
He has also launched smartphone apps, started video game tournaments and landed a deal with Walmart to sell his chocolate bar Feastables.
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