MrBeast vs. Virtual Dining Concepts "MrBeast Burgers" Lawsuit
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Overview
MrBeast vs. Virtual Dining Concepts "MrBeast Burgers" Lawsuit refers to a legal battle between YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) and the ghost kitchen company Virtual Dining Concepts after the content creator accused the company of allegedly forgoing quality control for "MrBeast Burgers," which are burgers branded with MrBeast's name handled by Virtual Dining Concepts. In the months leading up to the lawsuit in late July 2023, the burgers were widely criticized on social media, as viral posts showed people purportedly receiving raw meat and reviews called the burgers "inedible" and "revolting," among other things. After MrBeast filed his suit, Virtual Dining Concepts defended itself against his claims, calling the lawsuit "meritless" and claiming he used alleged "bullying tactics" to get himself out of his deal with the company.
Background
In 2020, MrBeast partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts to create "MrBeast Burgers" with a dining concept called "ghost kitchens." Ghost kitchens are a concept when an existing restaurant chain creates food for a different brand and sells the brand through apps like DoorDash and UberEats in exchange for some of the profits.[1] At the time of the launch of MrBeast Burgers, it was reported to be a serviceable, if expensive, burger.[2]
However, the quality control of MrBeast Burgers purportedly declined sharply in the years since the launch of the partnership, with many posting their negative reactions and reviews online. For example, on October 5th, 2022, Redditor killaqueenmac posted a picture of a raw MrBeast Burger to /r/WellThatSucks,[3] gaining over 18,000 points in nearly a year.
Other negative reviews of the burger include a December 1st, 2022, H3h3productions review on YouTube that called the burger a "disaster," gaining over 48,000 views in eight months (shown below, left). On June 9th, 2023, YouTuber UA Eats also reviewed the burger, calling it a "scam," gaining over 51,000 views in two months (shown below, right).
2023 Lawsuit
On July 31st, 2023, MrBeast then filed a lawsuit against Virtual Dining Concepts.[4] The above Reddit post was cited in the lawsuit as evidence Virtual Dining Experience had allegedly ignored complaints of poor quality, causing MrBeast "irreparable damage" to his brand. The lawsuit also cited reviews that called the burgers "revolting" and "inevitable."
Developments
Virtual Dining Concepts Response
On August 2nd, 2023, Virtual Dining Concepts pushed out a response to media outlets that reported on the lawsuit.[5] It claimed the lawsuit was "meritless" and that MrBeast had attempted to use "bullying tactics" to get more control of MrBeast Burgers. They allege that when those failed, he filed the lawsuit as a means to extricate himself from their deal.
(Orlando, FL) August 1, 2023: Jimmy Donaldson a/k/a MrBeast, by and through Beast Investments, LLC, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against affiliates Virtual Dining Concepts, LLC, Celebrity Virtual Dining, LLC and Virtual Concepts Holdings, Inc. (collectvely, “VDC”). Mr. Donaldson, Beast Investments, Virtual Dining Concepts and Celebrity Virtual Dining are partes to certain agreements underlying “MrBeast Burger,” a widely popular virtual dining restaurant brand. The complaint is riddled with false statements and inaccuracies and is a thinly-veiled attempt to distract from Mr. Donaldson’s and Beast Investments’ breaches of the agreements between the parties, including Mr. Donaldson’s recent false, disparaging statements regarding the MrBeast Burger brand and VDC.
To the detriment of approximately ten million happy MrBeast Burger customers, hundreds of restaurants, and their thousands of employees who make MrBeast Burger products daily, Mr. Donaldson recently attempted to negotiate a new deal to serve his own monetary interests. When VDC refused to accede to his bullying tactics to give up more of the company to him, he filed this ill-advised and meritless lawsuit seeking to undermine the MrBeast Burger brand and terminate his existing contractual obligations without cause. The alleged basis for Mr. Donaldson’s complaint is that his reputation has been “materially and irreparably” tarnished by the MrBeast Burger brand. In reality, Mr. Donaldson’s notoriety has grown exponentially over the life of the MrBeast Burger brand, in part because of the MrBeast Burger brand itself.
VDC takes quality and customer reviews very seriously. VDC consistently strives to improve quality and customer satisfaction, and any negative customer reviews reflect the experience and opinion of a very small minority of MrBeast Burger customers.3 VDC has retained the law firm of Greenberg Traurig to represent VDC’s interests in the pending dispute, represented by Richard A. Edlin and Mathew S. Rosengart, and VDC looks forward to being vindicated in court. In the meantime, it is business as usual for MrBeast Burger and VDC, and we look forward to serving many more happy customers. We extend our sincere appreciation to our customers, market partners, vendors and employees for all of their past, present and future support. VDC will continue to help the restaurant industry as we work to promptly resolve this unfortunate dispute. We had hoped Mr. Donaldson would act honorably. Instead, having elevated greed over his word and the truth, he will face the consequences in court when VDC files it claims against him.
On August 8th, Virtual Dining Concepts countersued MrBeast, alleging that his public lamentation of his deal with the company and his lawsuit have done irreparable harm to their brand. They seek damages of over $100 million.
Online Reactions
The lawsuit generated discussion and recaps on YouTube after appearing in headlines in late July 2023. For example, on August 1st, 2023, the YouTube channel Law & Crime posted a recap that gained over 27,000 views in one day (shown below, left). The same day, Philip DeFranco posted a recap and reaction to the news in a YouTube video that gained over 627,000 views in one day (shown below, right).
On August 1st, Twitter user @scrit_[6] joked about the surreality of the situation with the album cover for Melly vs. Melvin by rapper YNW Melly, gaining over 30 likes in one day (shown below).
Search Interest
External References
[1] Fox – Ghost Kitchens On The Rise In NYC
[2] Kotaku – I Accidentally Ordered Burgers From A YouTuber
[3] Reddit – /r/wellthatsucks
[4] CourtListener – Beast Investments, LLC v. Celebrity Virtual Dining, LLC
[5] Kotaku – Mr. Beast Sues Food Company Over His ‘Revolting,’ ‘Inedible’ Burgers [Update]
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