Jimmy Donaldson, better known on YouTube as MrBeast with 172 million subscribers, is being sued over a MrBeast Burger contract by his meal delivery business partner, Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC).
The Florida-based “virtual dining” company, according to Donaldson’s lawsuit against VDC this week, damaged Donaldson’s reputation by providing clients with “low quality” and occasionally “inedible” meals.
VDC and its subsidiary, Celebrity Virtual Dining, LLC, claim Donaldson and Beast Investments violated contracts and are suing for deliberate tortious interference in their lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which was submitted on Monday to the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of New York, describes the subject of the case as a “social media celebrity that believes his fame means that his word matters not, that the facts do not matter, and that he believes he can renege as well as breach the terms of his contract without consequence.” He is in error.
Donaldson’s damages, according to the business in the lawsuit, are in the “nine-figure range.”
On Monday, a representative for Donaldson declined to comment. A counsel for VDC stated that they have nothing further to offer.
The lawsuit’s initial announcement was reported by Variety.
Donaldson and VDC initially collaborated in December 2020 when they started selling branded burger-and-fries packages through eateries and industrial kitchens across the country. Donaldson is well-known for his pricey antics and viral charity endeavors.
Customers place their orders using popular meal delivery apps or on the MrBeastBurger website, which notes that menu items are available “for restaurants to make out of their existing kitchens as a way to create a new revenue stream.”
According to Donaldson’s original lawsuit, customers had posted on social media that the burgers were “‘disgusting,” revolting,’ and ‘inedible.'”
The lawsuit filed by VDC claims that Donaldson used his significant social media following to disparage VDC in online posts.
The lawsuit claims that Donaldson pressured plaintiffs on social media and threatened to end the parties’ agreements if they didn’t give in to his demands in an effort to persuade them to transfer to him a portion of their interests in Mr. Beast Burger. He created a series of alleged “breach[s]]” of the parties’ agreements in doing so, each of which was clearly bogus.
Attorneys for VDC noted a number of remarks Donaldson made on social media in which he claimed that he signed a “bad deal” on the site X, formerly known as Twitter.
The company I collaborated with won’t let me stop, despite the fact that it’s awful for my brand, Donaldson stated in one of the posts that were included in the case. The young beast made a poor choice. Yep, the issue with Beast Burger is that I can’t guarantee the quality of the order, Donaldson stated in another post that was featured in the complaint and is still available on his social media account. It’s impossible to control when working with other eateries, sadly.
Yeah, the problem with Beast Burger is i can’t guarantee the quality of the order. When working with other restaurants it’s impossible to control it sadly
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) June 17, 2023
And tbh I just enjoy Feastables 100x more. Making snacks is awesome and something I’m way more passionate about 🥰
According to the lawsuit, Donaldson’s unfounded and illegal defamation had the desired result: Mr. Beast Burger’s reputation suffered serious harm if not total destruction.
VDC claims Mariah Carey’s “Mariah’s Cookies,” Bravo’s “The Real HouseBowls,” and baker Buddy V’s “Cake Slice” as some of its other initiatives. VDC was co-founded by Robert Earl, founder & CEO of Planet Hollywood.
“Hard-won relationships with partners, vendors, and suppliers were shattered,” the lawsuit claims of VDC.
In the lawsuit, attorneys for VDC claim that “every restaurant receives irregularly negative reviews and every business that sells goods to the general public has dissatisfied customers.”
The lawsuit claims that “the vast majority of customers were extremely satisfied, and the product was excellent.”
Donaldson stated in his initial complaint that he wants to discontinue his contract with VDC due to a lack of quality control and that his comments “fell on deaf ears.” Although MrBeast Burger made “millions of dollars,” according to his lawsuit, “MrBeast has not received a dime.”
According to the VDC lawsuit, Donaldson is trying to break his contract with VDC in order to pursue a “‘better,’ more lucrative deal” in light of the popularity of MrBeast Burger.
The VDC lawsuit claims that Donaldson “must be held to his word and held responsible for his contractual breaches as well as additional misconduct, like any party to a contract.”