MrBeast says letting fans snap selfies with him in public can quickly turn into a “death sentence” if he doesn’t control how the photo is taken.
The YouTube star, born Jimmy Donaldson, talked about the issue on a recent episode of Steve-O’s Wild Ride! Podcast. Around the 51-minute mark, he explained that the moment someone else holds the phone, it instantly draws attention and sparks chaos.
“If someone asks you for a photo and you go yes and then you let them hand the phone to their mom, you’re cooked. It’s like a fucking flare in the middle of Walmart for everyone to start lining up, just ruining our trip.”
According to him, once photos start happening in public, people stop, stare, and things can spiral fast.
“You have to understand, it’s a death sentence if it’s not quick because, again, when you take photos in public, it causes everyone to turn and look, and lines form, and then it just gets bad because once a line forms, people just want a photo because other people are getting a photo,” Donaldson said. “I’ve literally been kicked out of a Walmart because of it.”
He added, “We like our fans and we’re not pieces of shit, it’s just a factual thing. If we don’t take it quick enough, things just go bad and it’s something that’s very hard to understand, but you’ve just got to take our words for it.”
Donaldson also shared that with a well-organized, conveyor belt-style setup, he’s managed to take anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 photos in a single day.
“It really makes a difference because then those people leave and they’re like, ‘Holy shit, that was a really cool experience,’ as opposed to just like, ‘Oh, it was whatever,’” he explained.
