YouTuber Mr. Beast's trans sidekick "Ava" Kris Tyson apologized on Tuesday for recent controversy after being accused of grooming a 13-year-old boy. Tyson had been with the multi-million dollar channel since it was created in 2012.
"I would like to apologize for any of my past behavior or comments if it hurt or offended anyone," Tyson said. "It was not my intent. Seeing recent events we’ve mutually decided it’s best I permanently step away from all things MrBeast and social media to focus on my family and mental health." Tyson is a father of one and separated from his wife after he came out as trans.
Reports emerged on Monday that Tyson communicated with a 13-year-old boy when Tyson was a 20-year-old man. The report from YouTube account Prism42 cites posts from X users in asserting that Tyson had made these communications and that the two "joked" about sending nudes. As allegations swirled, Tyson deleted all his posts on X.
"Kris Tyson reached out to this guy when he was 13-years-old" and Tyson was 20. Essentially, Tyson was making friends with a middle-schooler. They communicated one-on-one and also without supervision and they were connected on multiple platforms, including Snapchat. Their "friendship" began after LavaGS won a Mr. Beast challenge.
LavaGS shared a "weird snap from Chris" that he received when he was 15-year-old and Tyson was 22. It shows Tyson, pre-transition, in front of an American flag, mouth open, with the caption "cumming for America."
In a video, messages allegedly between Tyson and the boy when he was 16, identified by the username LavaGS, were read out. Pictures were shared of the boy meeting up with Tyson with the boy's face blurred out.
In one post, on February 14, 2018, Tyson shared a video of a woman, to which LavaGS replied, "Chris, does she know about your hentai addiction?" Hentai is anime pornography, and the ask means that either LavaGS knew Tyson had an infatuation with this kind of content or was trolling.
There were additional communications, and after they were made public, LavaGS said that he was not groomed by Tyson. "These videos are massive lies and twisting the truth," LavaGS said.
"Ava never did anything wrong and just made a few edgy jokes. I was never exploited or taken advantage of. Can you do me a favor and comment on these videos and tell them to stop spreading lies. This situation takes away from children who are actively being exploited everyday online. I am not a victim of anything being claimed in these videos or at all," he said.
Tyson came out as trans in 2023 and was immediately accepted by Mr. Beast and stayed on the show. He promoted his new identity with content on TikTok. After the Monday allegations, all the posts on Tyson's account were deleted.
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