Good morning. As we enter the holiday season, a few creators are giving Mariah Carey a run for her money. Within the last week, streamer Jschlatt and father-son duo The Costco Guys have released Christmas songs. If they can snag even a fraction of the listens “All I Want for Christmas” gets…let’s just say royalties might be the gift that keeps on giving.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

MrBeast Addresses Serious Allegations

On Friday, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson appeared on commentary creator Caleb “oompaville” Phelps’s podcast to address a handful of allegations leveled against him over the last few months—including knowingly hiring a sex offender, engaging in insider crypto trading, and indirectly utilizing child labor.

How we got here: 

• In July, MrBeast hired the law firm Quinn Emmanuel to investigate internal conduct following allegations against his longtime collaborator, Ava Tyson, of grooming and sexual misconduct. 

• In July and August, former MrBeast employee Dawson French, aka DogPack404, posted YouTube videos accusing Donaldson of knowingly hiring a sex offender, using child labor to produce Feastables, faking videos, and partaking in illegal lottery practices.

• In September, a group of contestants from Donaldson’s forthcoming Amazon show, Beast Games, filed a lawsuit accusing the production companies behind the show of exposing them to dangerous conditions. Beast Games is Donaldson's biggest production yet and is set to release December 19.

• Earlier this month, video essayist Stephen Findeisen, aka Coffeezilla, accused Donaldson of engaging in insider crypto trading.

Aside from the Tyson investigation (which found no evidence of sexual misconduct) and addressing past inappropriate language, Donaldson has largely been silent—until now.

“Truthfully I’ve never been in a situation where people have thrown this much stuff at me and I could’ve handled it better,” Donaldson told Phelps. “If I could go back in time I would do what we’re doing here, and I wouldn’t have wasted so much time trying to do a response [video].”

Over the nearly three-hour podcast, Donaldson…. 

• Debunked allegations. “There are things I deserve criticism for, but a lot of things that just aren’t true,” Donaldson said, denying French’s and Findeisen’s allegations by producing his own side of the story in a Google Doc. Findeisen has since responded to Donaldson’s insider crypto trading denial, calling his answers “not satisfying.”

• Addressed Beast Games. “I’m not allowed to disclose what’s behind the [lawsuit],” Donaldson said. “I’m not trying to disavow everything, but in general a lot of it was blown out of proportion [...] like claims that we didn’t use unions or there were dozens of broken bones [are false].”

• Looked ahead. Donaldson said French’s allegations cost him “millions of dollars” in partnerships. He’ll likely “have to” sue French for damages.

Worth noting: Though the legal investigation over the summer didn’t find evidence of sexual misconduct at MrBeast’s business, it did find “isolated instances of workplace harassment and misconduct” and noted that Donaldson’s company quickly worked to remedy those concerns. 

EmilyCC Hits 10,000 Twitch Subs After 3 Nonstop Years of Streaming

Twitch streamer EmilyCC reached 10,000 paid subscribers last week after streaming nonstop for over three years.

Context: Emily’s 1,108-day subathon is the longest in Twitch history. The streamer, who broadcasts herself playing video games including World of Warcraft and Overwatch, passed the previous record of 112 days back in 2022.

Behind the scenes: Twitch’s most-subbed streamer, Kai Cenat, invited Emily onto his own record-breaking subathon stream last week to celebrate her milestone.

• Cenat, who’s currently in the last week of his “Mafiathon 2” subathon, is closing in on 550,000 subscribers on Twitch.

• That’ll put him nearly 225K subs ahead of the previous record, which was set by VTuber Ironmouse in October.

Looking ahead: While it’s unclear if Emily will be nominated in any categories at the upcoming Streamer Awards, QTCinderella (the event’s organizer) called into Cenat’s stream and personally invited Emily for the first time.

Sponsored by CES

Creators to Take Center Stage at CES

The world's most powerful tech event is launching something special in 2025: the CES® Creator Space, presented by Sony.

With over 5,000 creators and media attending last year, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, which produces the annual conference, is leveling up the experience for creators.

The CES Creator Space will feature fully-equipped workstations, recording pods, and networking opportunities to help creators connect, create, and sharpen their skills.

As CTA President Kinsey Fabrizio says, "Creators are at the heart of the modern tech narrative."

Curious about what else CES has in store? Read this article to learn how CES is putting creators at the forefront of innovation and join CES from January 7-10, 2025.

Bluesky Adds 1 Million Users a Day

Twitter alternative Bluesky is currently adding over 1 million users a day and just passed 22 million total users. The platform has increased its user base by 7 million since Election Day on November 5.

What’s driving the growth? On November 6, X (formerly Twitter) experienced its largest user exodus since Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022.

• Wired reported that fans of Taylor Swift (aka Swifties, a group that had a strong presence on X) are flocking to Bluesky due to Musk’s public support for President-elect Donald Trump.

• Other users are looking for alternatives due to X’s new terms of service, which state that legal disputes with the company will now go to courts in conservative-leaning districts in Texas.

Big picture: Bluesky still pales in comparison to Meta’s Threads (275 million users) and X (588 million users). Social media strategist Lia Haberman wrote that while it’s too early for creators to prioritize posting on Bluesky, “the growth trajectory makes it worth watching closely…secure your handle now.”

👀 Creator Moves

• Mythical is hiring an editorial intern to contribute articles to its digital food publication, Sporked.

• Brandon William is hiring a producer to help brainstorm video ideas for his fitness channel.

• The Roost is hiring an account executive to sell partnerships across its podcast network.

Looking to bring on new team members? You can post opportunities on our (free) job board here.

🔥 Press Worthy

• TikTok Shop opens a retail pop-up in Los Angeles. 

• IShowSpeed kicks off an Australia and New Zealand livestream tour. 

• Expand your creator industry knowledge—subscribe to Passionfruit for free.*

• Dr Disrespect joins Rumble as a co-owner and exclusive streamer.

• The Costco Guys make their wrestling debut.

_{*This is sponsored advertising content.}