MrBeast Dragged for Hiding GoPros in Walmarts Across America to Monitor Feastables: 'Horrific Behavior'

MrBeast is facing fresh backlash after a resurfaced podcast clip showed him saying he secretly placed GoPros inside Walmart stores to monitor why his Feastables chocolate bars were breaking on shelves.

The clip, taken from MrBeast's appearance on The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett last year, has gone viral again after viewers began questioning the privacy implications of his admission. In the interview, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, said he wanted to understand why his Feastables bars were being damaged in shops. He claimed he first tried to obtain Walmart security footage but was unable to access it.

'I tried to get Walmart to give me the security camera footage and they wouldn't,' he said.

Donaldson then said he paid people to hide GoPros inside what he described as bags of Lay's crisps, aiming the cameras at Feastables displays in several Walmart locations.

'I Just Needed to Know Why My Bars Were Breaking'

According to Donaldson, the cameras were used to observe how customers interacted with the product displays. He said the footage showed shoppers picking up bars before the display boxes tipped over or fell from the shelf, causing some of the chocolate to break.

The YouTuber admitted the issue came down to poor packaging design.

'It would just happen over and over and over again because we didn't engineer the boxes correctly,' he said.

When Bartlett pointed out how unusual the move sounded, Donaldson acknowledged that people around him had warned him against it.

'The amount of people who tried to tell me that was illegal,' he said, before adding: 'I don't f***ing care. I just need to know why my bars are breaking.'

Viewers Accuse MrBeast of Crossing a Line

The resurfaced clip quickly drew criticism on X, where users accused the YouTube star of treating shoppers like test subjects without their knowledge.

One user tagged Walmart directly, writing: 'Hey @Walmart this is horrific behavior and I now feel violated and unsafe at the idea of shopping in any of your locations again. This must be immediately addressed.'

Another asked: 'So we're just supposed to accept that it's normal that MrBeast sets up and records any of us without our permission whenever he wants?'

The criticism centred less on the broken chocolate bars and more on the idea that customers may have been recorded by hidden cameras while shopping.

Feastables and MrBeast's Business Empire

Feastables is the chocolate and snack brand founded by Donaldson, who built one of the largest audiences on YouTube through stunt videos, giveaways and large-scale challenges.

The brand has become a major part of his growing business empire, with products sold in major retailers across the United States and beyond. Donaldson's comments were framed in the podcast as an example of how obsessively he approaches problem-solving. But the resurfaced clip has now been interpreted by critics as evidence of a more troubling attitude towards privacy and consent.

Privacy Concerns Overshadow Packaging Problem

The incident has revived broader debate about how far creators and entrepreneur-influencers should go when trying to optimise their businesses. For Donaldson, the hidden cameras appeared to be a way to solve a practical retail problem. For critics, the method raised serious questions about recording ordinary shoppers without clear notice.

The clip may be old, but its renewed circulation shows how quickly past comments can become fresh controversy, especially when they involve one of the internet's most powerful creators and one of America's biggest retail chains.