Overview

MrBeast Viewstats AI Thumbnail Generator Controversy refers to criticism levied against YouTuber and content creator MrBeast for launching an AI YouTube thumbnail generator app with the company Viewstats, which he co-founded. In a video posted on June 21st, 2025, MrBeast promoted an AI generator where a user can submit a link to an existing YouTube thumbnail and add an AI prompt to alter it to the user's liking. Shortly after, YouTuber Jacksepticeye criticized MrBeast for using his logo to promote the use of his AI thumbnail generation app, despite his strong anti-AI stance. Various artists called for YouTubers to support thumbnail artists in the days following the controversy and shared their favorite thumbnail art. Twitch streamer Asmongold was one of several creators to defend MrBeast, saying that the hate against him is "forced." MrBeast reacted to the backlash by saying that he will change his proposed "Faceswap" feature to only be used on one's own thumbnails and not others, and that he was only trying to "level the playing field" between new YouTubers and creators like him who employ 300 people.

Background

On June 21st, 2025, MrBeast made a post on X^[1] / Twitter promoting an AI thumbnail generator released by Viewstats, a company he co-founded.^[5] The post read, "Viewstats just dropped Al thumbnails and it takes the guesswork out of what thumbnails will preform! Just prompt what you're looking for and it will generate a data backed viral thumbnail :D"

The post has since been deleted, with a repost and screenshot being shared by X^[2] user @Awk20000 that same day (seen below).

Also June 21st, DramaAlert's X^[3] account posted a video in which MrBeast gave more details on his AI thumbnail app, showing how the program would allow you to use another creator's thumbnail and faceswap yourself into it. The video also showed MrBeast presenting the logos of several notable YouTubers like Marques Brownlee and Jacksepticeye, saying that his tool allowed you to take thumbnails from any channel on YouTube and use them as inspiration for a thumbnail.

The post has since been deleted, with a repost by X^[4] user @franklaza that same day resharing the clip (shown below).

MrBeast's "Viewstats" Company Revolutionizes YouTube with Instant AI Thumbnails

Viewstats has launched an artificial intelligence tool that generates YouTube thumbnails from text prompts, transforming ideas like "stranded on a volcano" into viral images without Photoshop.

It… pic.twitter.com/zfD1Roba4F

— Francisco Perlaza (@franklaza) June 21, 2025

Developments

Several YouTubers and content creators reacted negatively to MrBeast's AI thumbnail creator tool following its debut, including Jacksepticeye, who quoted @DramaAlert on X^[6] to write, "What the actual fuck… and he used my logo in the promotion for it too. I hate what this platform is turning into. Fuck AI" on June 21st, 2025. The tweet gathered over 520,000 likes in two days.

Redditor /u/AdhesivenessLevel321 reposted the tweet to the subreddit^[7] /r/YouTube that same day, gathering over 12,000 likes in two days.

Also on June 21st, YouTuber Eric Pointcrow (@PointCrow) tweeted^[8] a photo of MrBeast complaining about the "largest channel in Russia" taking his thumbnails and editing their face onto his. The tweet criticized MrBeast for his supposed hypocrisy, saying, "I spend days, weeks, sometimes months thinking of thumbnails, working with artists to craft the perfect one — and you’ve made something that can steal my (and my artists) hard work without a thought," adding, "If there’s any class action lawsuit, count me in."

MrBeast's Response

MrBeast responded to backlash about his AI thumbnail generator from YouTuber Eric Pointcrow on X,^[9] writing, "Already working on changes like Faceswap should only be used to swap your face on YOUR thumbnail, obviously not others. And overall I’ll build this more in a way to be inspiration for artists/a tool they use and not replace them … My goal with viewstats is to build tools to level the playing field between people like me with 300 employees and new creators that can’t afford a small army."

MrBeast's reply on June 21st, 2025, received over 611,000 views, 2,000 likes and 330 replies in two days.

Online Reactions

On June 21st, 2025, X^[10] user @Gabemstewart tweeted about Team Trees and Team Seas, two large-scale fundraising campaigns spearheaded by YouTubers MrBeast and Mark Rober, which aimed to plant 20 million trees and remove 30 million pounds of trash from oceans, rivers and beaches.^[11] The tweet read, "So like what was the point of these then," gathering over 200,000 likes in two days.

Also on June 21st, X^[12] user @999blades tweeted about MrBeast's Coach Tyler Wall video, writing, "dude deleted the ai thumbnails post and is acting like nothing happened," and gathering over 66,000 likes in two days.

That same day, YouTuber^[14] SomeOrdinaryGamers posted a video criticizing MrBeast's AI thumbnail generation tool, calling its product "AI slop," and gathering over 450,000 views in two days.

Some creators notably defended MrBeast, with Twitch streamer Asmongold saying, "All it is, is a bunch of creators and artists..who get their audience riled up..because they don’t wanna be replaced." X^[13] user @Awk20000 reposted a clip of the streamer on June 22nd, 2025, gathering over 2,000 likes in a day.

Asmongold thinks the hate on AI is “forced” after MrBeast got cooked on the timeline for promoting an AI thumbnail website

“All it is, is a bunch of creators and artists..who get their audience riled up..because they don’t wanna be replaced” pic.twitter.com/5gssnq5bft

— yeet (@Awk20000) June 22, 2025

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References