MrBeast Causes Controversy With 'Experiment' Where Two Strangers Try to Win $500,000 by Staying in the Same Room for 100 Days

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Oct 2, 2023 6:00 PM EDT

The criticism of the internet is not an alien concept to MrBeast. He's built multimillion dollar empire from his algorithmically-trained YouTube videos and the acts of philanthropy he often displays in them, but they're not to everybody's taste. With every passing day, he seems to be becoming more and more of a demented, Black Mirror style gameshow host. His latest stunt has attracted the most skepticism yet.

Last Friday, the YouTuber announced that he was going to run a challenge in which two strangers tried to stay in an unlocked but windowless room together for 100 days in the hopes of winning $500,000. While some people thought they'd be up to the challenge, many, many more were horrified at the possibilities that this cynical attempt at winning views might bring. Voluntary or not, forced isolation generally doesn't end well, and no massive amount of money is ever going to change that.