Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, is facing serious backlash over his artificial intelligence (AI) thumbnail generator.
The tool, designed to help smaller creators make YouTube thumbnails, has received backlash from creators like PointCrow and Jacksepticeye, who claim it steals artwork from human artists.
In a post on X, Donaldson thanked everyone for the feedback on the controversial tool, but it has been removed from the site.
“Thanks for all your feedback on the ViewStats AI thumbnail tool, we pulled it and added a funnel for creators to find real thumbnail artists to commission,” the post said.
Hey! Thanks for all your feedback on the ViewStats AI thumbnail tool, we pulled it and added a funnel for creators to find real thumbnail artists to commission pic.twitter.com/ICrB8NFyuC
undefined MrBeast (@MrBeast) June 27, 2025
In the video accompanying the post, MrBeast told his 32.8 million followers that he “definitely missed the mark” when investing in and promoting a tool that takes away from human creators.
The tool was supposedly advertised as a simple way to design dynamic and captivating images for the cool sum of $80 a month, the BBC reports.
It also allowed creators to insert themselves into the thumbnail, which is a common design choice arguably made popular by Donaldson himself.
Although Donaldson believed that people were going to be excited about the option of using AI for thumbnails, many were critical of the move.
Eric Morino, aka PointCrow, accused Donaldson of creating something that can steal from human content creators, according to the BBC.
The issue with generative AI tools like this is that they are trained on troves of data and often appropriate human-made content, such as artwork, without explicit permission from the creator.
This brings in a host of ethical concerns when it comes to using art and visuals created via artificial intelligence.
Viewstats is a YouTube analytics platform founded by MrBeast alongside YouTuber and MrBeast employee Chucky Appleby.
MrBeast (Donaldson) is one of, if not the biggest, YouTuber in the world with over 400 million subscribers and hundreds of millions of views on almost every video on the platform.
Cybernews has previously reported on MrBeast’s legal battles with former employee Leroy Nabors, his plans to bid on TikTok amid the ban, and perhaps most notably, MrBeast’s leaked PDF files on becoming the best YouTuber.
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