MrBeast’s AI Thumbnail Tool Sparks Backlash—Then a Quick Retreat
Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, just learned the hard way that not all AI tools are welcome—at least not without some serious tweaks. His latest venture, an AI-powered thumbnail generator, landed in hot water almost immediately after launch. The tool, which cost $80 a month, let users mimic the styles of other YouTubers—right down to their logos and even faces. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t sit well with creators.
Promotional videos for the tool (now deleted) showed how easily it could replicate someone else’s branding. The backlash was swift. Within days, Donaldson announced on X that his team had “pulled it” and added a way for creators to connect with actual human artists instead.
Creators Push Back
The tipping point came when big names like Jacksepticeye realized their logos had been used in the tool’s promo materials—without permission. His reaction on X was blunt: “What the actual fuck… I hate what this platform is turning into. Fuck AI.”
Donaldson co-founded ViewStats, the company behind the tool, as part of Juice, a startup focused on creator tools. Though he doesn’t own ViewStats outright, his involvement is close enough that the controversy stuck to him. The tool is still available, but the face-swap feature is now supposedly limited to creators using their own likenesses.
Neither Donaldson nor ViewStats responded to requests for comment. Maybe they’re still figuring out what to say.
The AI Debate Isn’t Going Away
This whole mess highlights a bigger fight brewing in the creator world. On one side, you’ve got people arguing that AI helps smaller creators compete without big budgets. On the other, there’s real fear about what happens when originality gets automated—and who profits from it.
Renz Chong, CEO of Sovrun (a platform backed by a16z), compared it to the uproar over calculators in schools. At first, people resisted them, but eventually, they became standard. “These tools may feel unfair now,” he said, “but they’ll soon be too common to ignore.”
The real question, though, is how to protect creators when imitation gets easier. Chong thinks the answer isn’t just blocking AI but building systems that give credit—and compensation—where it’s due. “Creators need to retain visibility and value, even when their style is being mimicked,” he said.
For now, the thumbnail tool’s stumble shows that even the biggest creators can misjudge the line between helpful and harmful. And if MrBeast, with his 400 million subscribers, can’t dodge the backlash, what chance do smaller players have?
One thing’s clear: this isn’t the last time AI will force creators to ask who really owns their work—or their style.
