Ava Kris Tyson #
Introduction #
Ava Kris Tyson, the longtime friend and collaborator of YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson (better known as MrBeast), announced in July 2024 that she was leaving the channel after online commentators accused her of “grooming.” Both Tyson and the alleged victim denied the allegations, and Donaldson said he was hiring “an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation.”
Background Information #
Tyson, a 28-year-old US YouTuber who had more than 22,000 subscribers on her own channel, rose to fame appearing alongside MrBeast since 2012, as the channel grew to more than 300 million subscribers and became the most subscribed on the platform. Wikipedia describes her as a childhood friend of Donaldson who was recruited to contribute to his channel, and records that Tyson left the crew in 2024. In 2023, Tyson revealed that she was a transgender woman, that she was undergoing gender-affirming therapy, and that she was changing her pronouns to she/her. She has been subjected to attacks against her identity in the past, and Donaldson has defended her — including in April 2023, when he responded to criticism over her feminizing hormone replacement therapy by writing, “All this transphobia is starting to piss me off.” Rolling Stone noted he also defended her after streamer Nickmercs posted that Tyson “should be ashamed.”
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
The controversy centered on criticism that Tyson developed a relationship with a minor online, beginning when the person was 13 and Tyson was 20. Allegations first surfaced in June 2024: on June 13, a 45-minute video posted by the account Prism42 accused Tyson of grooming a minor, claiming Tyson was 20 and the person — who goes by LavaGS online — was 13 when their communications began, and pointing to an alleged Snapchat Tyson sent Lava of her face captioned “Cumming for America.” The video gained traction on YouTube in July, and more online commentators began scrutinizing public posts between Tyson and LavaGS on X and Discord, including some referring to nude photos, sex and hentai; NBC News was unable to independently verify the posts, which appeared to have been taken down by July 24.
Both Tyson and the alleged victim denied the allegations. LavaGS, now 20, rebutted the claims on X on July 22: “These videos are massive lies and twisting the truth. Ava never did anything wrong and just made a few edgy jokes. I was never exploited or taken advantage of,” adding that Kris’s messages to him “were sent in public discord servers/groups but everyone is framing it as if it was 1 on 1.” He also said, “I did not meet Kris Tyson by myself I meet Kris & the MrBeast crew with my family present.” For her part, Tyson apologized “for any of my past behavior or comments if it hurt or offended anyone,” denied that her behavior extended beyond “bad edgy jokes,” and wrote, “I want to add, I never groomed anyone. The person who gets brought up in these accusations @LavaGS has vocally supported that they are false.”
Public Reaction and Consequences #
Despite the denials, many online believed the sexual references in Tyson’s interactions with a minor should not be passed off as “edgy,” and some said it was inappropriate for adult content creators to engage in explicit conversations with their minor fans because of the power imbalance. Both figures drew harassment: Tyson received comments misgendering her as well as anti-LGBTQ harassment, while LavaGS received comments doubting his account of his experience and accusing him of having been “paid off.” NBC noted that conservatives have weaponized the word “groomer” against the LGBTQ community online in recent years; Rolling Stone reported that despite her ex-wife Katie, with whom she shares a son, and Donaldson defending her, the backlash continued to intensify.
On July 23, 2024, Tyson announced her departure: “Seeing recent events we’ve mutually decided it’s best I permanently step away from all things MrBeast and social media to focus on my family and mental health.” Donaldson then posted that he had “seen enough online and taken immediate action to remove Ava from the company, my channel, and any association with MrBeast,” while saying he had been focused on hiring “an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure I have all the facts” and would await its findings before taking further action. Tyson said she had stepped away because she did not want the accusations to impact “the hundreds of people who work at MrBeast.”
Current Status #
As of the most recent reporting in the fetched sources, Tyson has not returned to the MrBeast channel; Wikipedia records that she left the crew in 2024. The independent investigation that Donaldson said he was launching produced a notable result by November 2024: a BBC News report cited in Tyson’s Wikipedia entry was headlined “MrBeast: Lawyers find grooming claims against YouTube co-host baseless.” The fetched material does not otherwise detail the investigation’s conclusions or Tyson’s subsequent activity.
Impact on Their Career/Life #
The allegations ended a twelve-year run alongside MrBeast on a channel that had grown to more than 300 million subscribers and had been the most subscribed on the platform since 2022. Her exit was framed as permanent in her own announcement and in Donaldson’s removal of her from the company, the channel, “and any association with MrBeast” pending the investigation. The episode also renewed attacks on her identity: amid the allegations, Tyson received misgendering and anti-LGBTQ harassment, extending a pattern of transphobic attacks that followed her coming out in 2023. In her parting statements, Tyson said she could not change who she was but could “continue to work on myself,” asked followers to direct their attention to LavaGS’s denials, and said she had stepped away so the accusations would not harm the people employed by MrBeast.