MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, found himself in a social media backlash after questioning comedian Caleb Hearon’s placement above him on Rolling Stone’s list of most influential creators.
Donaldson, ranked seventh, shared a screenshot of Hearon’s sixth-place spot on X and wrote, “According to this list, a guy with 1 million followers is more influential than me. What did I do to piss off the Rolling Stones?”
His post was quickly met with criticism and support for Hearon, prompting Donaldson to delete it.
One of the strongest responses came from YouTuber Rosanna Pansino, who said, “MrBeast's mask slipping this much in less than a year has been fascinating to watch.
Mrbeast's mask slipping this much in less than a year has been fascinating to watch.
— Rosanna Pansino (@RosannaPansino) August 26, 2025
Sorry Jimmy, Caleb has something you'll never have: A personalty. pic.twitter.com/Ck3WnTNfXf
Others echoed similar sentiments, pointing out Hearon’s growing influence across comedy, film, and podcasting.
After deleting the post, Donaldson admitted he had reconsidered, writing, “Ngl after this I watched some of his stuff and it’s actually good. I deleted the tweet I don’t want the smoke from the shooters, spare me plz.”
His remark referenced Hearon’s appearance on Drew Afualo’s The Comment Section podcast, where Hearon joked about his fanbase of “hundreds of thousands of mentally ill baristas” ready to defend him.
Hearon later reposted the screenshot to Instagram, thanking Rolling Stone and receiving light-hearted support from friends such as Ayo Edebiri and Afualo.
Hearon eventually shared on Instagram Stories a post captioned, “I am in peace talks with MrBeast.”
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