MrBeast's YouTube co-host Ava Kris Tyson has announced that she is quitting the popular channel after allegations of grooming a minor. According to the BBC, the 28-year-old was accused of sending inappropriate messages when she was 20 to a then-13-year-old. On Wednesday, she addressed the allegations on social media. She denied the claims saying, "I never groomed anyone", but apologised for her "past behaviour". She also said that she and MrBeats - whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson - have "mutually decided it's best I permanently step away from all the things MrBeast and social media to focus on my family and mental health".
Ms Tyson rose to fame after appearing alongside MrBeast on his YouTube channel. According to the BBC, last year, she revealed that she was a transgender woman and that she was undergoing gender-affirming therapy while changing her pronouns to she/her. The allegations against the 28-year-old surfaced last month in videos shared by other YouTubers which accuse her of messaging a minor when she was 20.
Responding to the accusations, Ms Tyson said, "I never groomed anyone". "To create a narrative that my behaviour extended beyond bad edgy jokes is disgusting and did not happen. In past years, I have learned that my old humour is not acceptable. I cannot change who I was, but I can continue to work on myself," she wrote in the following post.
"I humbly apologise to anyone I have hurt with my unacceptable social media posts, past actions, and to those who may feel betrayed by how I used to act online," she said.
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MrBeast also responded to the allegations. In an X post, he promised to conduct a third-party investigation while reaffirming she had been removed from the company. " I've seen enough online and taken immediate action to remove Ava from the company, my channel, and any association with MrBeast. I do not condone or support any of the inappropriate actions," he wrote.
"I will allow the independent investigators the necessary time to conduct a comprehensive investigation and will take any further actions based on their findings," MrBeast added.
The alleged victim, who was named online, has come out to defend Ms Tyson as well. "Ava never did anything wrong and just made a few edgy jokes. I was never exploited or taken advantage of," he said in an X post.
Notably, Ms Tyson was accused of grooming Lava in a 45-minute video posted online in June by the account Prism42. The clip claimed that she sent a Snapchat message to the then minor of her face with the text, "C-ming for America".
However, in his post, Lava said that clips are "massive lies and twisting the truth". "Can you do me a favour and comment on these videos and tell them to stop spreading lies," he went on, linking to the supposed exposes that claim he was abused. "This situation takes away from children who are actively being exploited everyday online. I am not a victim of anything being claimed in these videos or at all," he said.
