MrBeast's YouTube co-host , Ava Kris Tyson, has resigned from the channel following allegations of grooming , charges she denies.
The 28-year-old YouTuber, who has more than 22,000 subscribers to her channel, was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a minor (13 years old at the time) while she was 20 years old.
In a post on X, Ava Kris Tyson denied the harassment allegations, saying, “I have never harassed anyone.” However, she did apologize in case anyone was hurt by her behavior in the past.
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She also said that she and MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) jointly decided that she would permanently step away from the MrBeast channel and social to focus on her family and mental health.
Ava became famous when she appeared alongside MrBeast on his channel a few years ago.
Ava Kris Tyson revealed last year that she was a transgender woman and was undergoing gender reassignment therapy.
The allegations first surfaced against her last month in videos shared by other YouTubers. Ava responded by saying she didn't harass anyone and never crossed the line: "Over the years, I've learned that my old humor is not acceptable. I can't change who I was, but I can continue to work on myself... I humbly apologize to anyone I've hurt with my unacceptable social media posts and past actions. I also humbly apologize to those who may have felt betrayed by the way I've acted online."
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The alleged victim – whose name has been named online ( @LavaGSon X) – defended Ava, saying: “These videos are huge lies and distort the truth. Ava Kris Tyson never did anything wrong and was just making some jokes. She never harassed me or took advantage of me.”
“Can you please tell them to stop spreading lies,” he continued. “This situation distracts attention from the children who are being exploited every day online.”
Ava Kris Tyson added that she doesn't want this situation to affect her boyfriend MrBeast: "I don't want these accusations to affect the hundreds of people who work at MrBeast, which is why I left."
In these cases, where there are such serious accusations, it is good not to draw conclusions without having a full picture of the facts. The right thing to do is for the competent authorities to investigate the situation, so that a conclusion can be drawn. As was evident from posts , the alleged victim, who is now 20 years old, defended the young YouTuber.
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Grooming is a serious crime in many countries and the legal penalties vary depending on the legislation of each state. In most countries, grooming/harassment is considered a felony and is punishable by severe prison.
In many countries, laws also provide for the provision of psychological support to victims and the imposition of restrictive measures on perpetrators to protect victims.
Source: www.bbc.com
