MrBeast slams ‘lies’ after recent Mayan Temple controversy in Mexico
Medio: The Mirror, País: Estados Unidos
YouTuber MrBeast recently found himself in hot water over a video posted on May 10 showing the content creator visiting archaeological sites in Mexico, including the 7th Wonder of the World, Chichén Itza, Calakmul in the state of Campeche, and Balamcanché in Yucatán.
The 27-year-old was criticized for being granted access to restricted areas that are considered sacred in Mayan culture in order to profit from views and promote his snack brand Feastables.
MrBeast took to social media to combat the «lies» that the government agency is suing him over the YouTube video, which was originally titled «I Survived 100 Hours in an Ancient Temple» but was changed to «I Explored 2000 Year Old Ancient Temples.»
While the Mexican tourism board and the National Institute of Anthropology and History, a government agency also known as the INAH, originally granted him permission, he may have violated the terms of the permission by using the archaeological sites for advertising, not educational purposes.
INAH announced in a May 15 thread on X, formerly Twitter, that it was considering legal action against Full Circle Media, the production company behind the video. The INAH explained that the terms of the permission granted did not allow for the use of the image of archaeological sites for advertising purposes, personal profit, or the publication of false information, which is in reference to the use of drones inside pyramids and the promotion of MrBeast’s snack brand Feastables.
The YouTuber posted a lengthy statement on X in response to the controversy.
«I’ve seen a lot of stories about our recent video in Mexico and wanted to clear some false things being said. Me and my team have great respect for the Mexican and Mayan culture and people. We did this video to get people all over the world excited to learn more about their culture, much like we did with our Pyramids video,» the statement began.
«We are not and have never been sued by them lol. That is false and it saddens me to see people spreading lies. We filmed with full permits, followed guidelines, had representatives from government agencies following us, Mexican archeologists to make sure we were accurate, AND representatives from the sites to ensure we were following the rules. The governor of the state we shot in even came out in our defense, read below»
«They were aware of us mentioning Feastables in the video but for respect of the sites, it was filmed off site from any national monuments. The dinner scene where I made the Feastables joke was not near any mayan temples. We also never planned on sharing this, but as always my hand is forced by false headlines – behind the scenes we funded wells and water projects in the state, I’ve also been working with INAH on a fund to support local Mexican archeology and new discoveries because I wanted to help spread the culture as a thanks for allowing us to film. I hope to go back someday and continue to share how awesome the culture is with the world, sad to see this get distorted,» the statement concluded.
One commenter wrote, «People really be out here canceling someone for promoting a culture respectfully while funding local development projects? Make it make sense,» to which he responded «Yeah, makes me sad ngl.»
Referencia: https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/celebrity-news/mrbeast-mexico-youtube-controversy-response-1158206