PETA Calls Out MrBeast Over 100 Men vs a Gorilla Post
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Animal charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has called out YouTube content creator MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, on social media after he weighed in on the viral 100 Men vs. a gorilla debate.
Newsweek reached out to Donaldson via email and to PETA via an online contact form for comment outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
Over the weekend, a viral debate emerged on social media: could 100 men beat a gorilla in a hypothetical fight? The discourse has swept the internet following a post from social media user DreamChasnMike in which they wrote: "i think 100 n***** could beat 1 gorilla everybody just gotta be dedicated to the s***."
The post has so far been viewed 273 million times on X, formerly Twitter, and now Donaldson has weighed in.
Split image of Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, left, at the 2025 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 5 in Santa Monica, California; and, right, a stock image of a gorilla.
Split image of Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, left, at the 2025 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 5 in Santa Monica, California; and, right, a stock image of a gorilla.
ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
Donaldson has cemented his position as the world's most popular YouTube content creator, with more than 388 million subscribers on the platform. Since launching his career online, he has built up a reputation for content involving big-budget, elaborate stunts and charitable acts, including giving away cash, houses and cars.
"Need to test this," he wrote on X to his 32.5 million followers. The post was accompanied by a photo of him, a gorilla and a group of men and came with the text overlay, "100 Men vs a Gorilla." The post has been viewed 26 million times as of reporting.
Need 100 men to test this, any volunteers? pic.twitter.com/p2iQvOWbYJ — MrBeast (@MrBeast) April 28, 2025
While many people who saw the post thought it was funny, PETA was not impressed. Responding to Donaldson, it wrote, "try 100 reasons to leave animals out of your content..."
Animal rights groups have often raised concerns about the treatment of animals in online content. Between July 2020 and August 2021, the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC) documented over 5,000 links to videos which contained cruelty to animals on platforms including YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.
These videos had amassed over 5.3 billion views and showed multiple kinds of mistreatment of animals, according to a 2021 SMACC report.
What People Are Saying
Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, in a post on X: "Need 100 men to test this, any volunteers?"
Animal charity PETA responded on X: "100 men vs. a gorilla? Maybe try 100 reasons to leave animals out of your content instead..."
Gregg Tully, the executive director of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, was quoted in SMACC's 2021 report about animal cruelty online: "Online animal cruelty shows humanity at its worst, normalizes a view that wild animals can be pets, and enables the illegal trade in many species, including Africa's endangered apes and monkeys."
What's Next
Due to numerous international laws, it is highly unlikely the 100 men vs. a gorilla debate will translate into any real-life content.
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