NEW YORK -- MrBeast, YouTube's biggest star and a philanthropic force with nearly unrivaled influence among young audiences, acknowledged Wednesday that he used 鈥渋nappropriate language鈥 in his early online days, as numerous controversies bubbled up around him and a former collaborator.

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and his reported US$700 million empire have come under new fire in recent weeks after accusations of past racist comments by Donaldson surfaced along with allegations that a longtime colleague made inappropriate sexual comments to minors.

鈥淲hen Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny," a spokesperson for the YouTuber said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Over the years he has repeatedly apologized and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility to be more aware and more sensitive to the power of language. After making some bad jokes and other mistakes when he was younger, as an adult he has focused on engaging with the MrBeast community to work together on making a positive impact around the world.鈥

His highly produced videos of whimsical challenges and lavish gifts, often accompanied by expressive thumbnails and punchy titles, have drawn a record 307 million Youtube subscribers. His latest uploads include 鈥淎ges 1 - 100 Decide Who Wins US$250,000鈥 and 鈥淚 Built 100 Houses And Gave Them Away!鈥 which, like most of his videos, garnered more than 100 million views.

The philanthropic sector has received this content with a mix of praise for encouraging direct generosity and criticism of exploitative 鈥渋nspiration porn.鈥 Donaldson's greater ambition made itself plain in recent years through the launch of his snack brand Feastables, a branded burger chain with reviews bad enough that he sued the company behind it, and an Amazon Prime Video deal for a 1,000-contestant reality competition show.

But before overtaking YouTube with his often-absurd charitable acts, Donaldson built a sizable following as a gaming content creator who sometimes interacted with viewers on livestreams.

'Blind ambition for attention'

In a 2017 clip circulated by YouTube influencer Rosanna Pansino in a July 24 post on X, Donaldson responded to a viewer who commented about selling Black people for money and said that 鈥渢he most I would pay is probably 300.鈥 Donaldson also used a homophobic slur at multiple points. After one commenter repeated a racial slur, Donaldson eventually instructed his audience to stop using that word in the chat.

Pansino told AP she鈥檇 worked on various potential business ventures with Donaldson over the last several years, though none ever launched. Last fall, she complained publicly about an edit of her appearance in a MrBeast video, though eventually deleted the posts after she said she received death threats from fans.

Pansino said that contrary to popular opinion, it鈥檚 鈥渏ust not true鈥 that Donaldson has always made 鈥渇amily friendly content.鈥

鈥淗is first videos, where he was trying to be an edgy gamer and streamer, and he said horrible things and nasty things 鈥 I didn鈥檛 know that," Pansino said. "I had no idea that history was there.鈥

In a separate clip from a May 2017 podcast appearance, Donaldson suggested he would have sex with the rapper Bhad Bhabie, whose real name is Danielle Bregoli and who was 14 years old at the time. The video has since been removed for 鈥渧iolating YouTube鈥檚 community guidelines.鈥

Podcast co-host Leon Lush defended Donaldson in a video posted on X last week. Lush said Donaldson clarified later on the episode that he 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 do that鈥 because Bregoli was 鈥渨ay too young" and had joked they should "say something offensive that people can take out of context.鈥

Lush added that the recording is 鈥渃ringe in hindsight" and dismissed the outcry as 鈥渁 molehill turning into a mountain."

鈥淏eing unfunny seems like the worst offense here. When you mix a propensity for dark humor with blind ambition for attention, you get鈥 this content sometimes, Lush said. "Was being edgy the best strategy? Certainly not, although it did work sometimes as far as getting attention.鈥

Collaborator controversy

Those clips emerged as internet sleuths alleged that longtime MrBeast collaborator Ava Kris Tyson interacted inappropriately with minors online.

Under scrutiny are Tyson's past conversations with an underage teenage fan, including public posts where the two discussed nude images and anime pornography. The fan denied any exploitation in a July 22 post on X, describing such accusations as 鈥渕assive lies and twisting the truth.鈥

In a July 24 post on X, Nate Weyman said he and the fan had done unpaid technical work running Tyson鈥檚 streams and would all play video games together 鈥渇or hours on end.鈥 Weyman said Tyson had a private Discord server with about 10 people, mostly other minors around 14 years old, and would frequently spam the server with pornographic images.

Tyson announced her departure from 鈥渁ll things MrBeast and social media鈥 in a July 23 post on X. Donaldson posted on July 24 that he was 鈥渄isgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts鈥 and is hiring independent investigators to look into the allegations.

Tyson has been the target of transphobic attacks since she came out last year as transgender. Last April, Donaldson defended his close friend against a video describing her as a 鈥渘ightmare" for MrBeast. Donaldson wrote on X then that 鈥渢his is getting absurd," affirmed their friendship and said 鈥渢his transphobia鈥 was starting to anger him.

Giveaways questioned

Last week, a former employee accused Donaldson of rigging the contests in his videos, running illegal lotteries and deceiving his fans. The person made the sweeping accusations under an alias in a YouTube video that has reached over 6.9 million views since it was posted last week.

Donaldson has not publicly responded to the unsubstantiated claims. Chucky Appleby, who co-founded YouTube analytics platform ViewStats alongside Donaldson, said the former employee was fired within a month after displaying 鈥渆rratic behavior." In a July 29 post on X, Appleby denied accusations that MrBeast fakes videos and said it 鈥渨ould have been impossible to hide鈥 scripted segments from the 鈥渃ountless people on set."

鈥淛immy spends unfathomable amounts of money and time to ensure the integrity of what he does," Appleby said. 鈥淚 hate to see it come into question with a bunch of lies.鈥

AP direct messaged several social media users behind the range of accusations, as well as the underage fan.

Matthew Wade, a La Trobe University sociology lecturer focused on ethics of charity, credited Beast Philanthropy for establishing partnerships with esteemed philanthropic organizations. The 鈥済auche tone and occasional crassness鈥 of Donaldson's style might have been well worth his 鈥渢ruly extraordinary reach" for nonprofits eager to drive support toward their causes, Wade told AP in an email.

But risk calculations could shift, he said.

鈥淐harities and philanthropic foundations cannot gamble with their reputation,鈥 Wade said. 鈥淭hey must be seen as above reproach, and the steady accumulation of controversies around the MrBeast brand may too easily tarnish the pristine glow of their own.鈥

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP鈥檚 collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.