---
title: "MrBeast Sues His Ghost Kitchen for Serving “Revolting” Burger"
description: "The only thing beastly about the MrBeast Burger is, apparently, the allegedly \"raw\" and uncooked meat that comprises it."
date: "2023-08-01"
modified: "2023-08-01"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mrbeast-sues-ghost-kitchen"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "burgers"
  - "influencers"
  - "the digest"
  - "youtubers"
---

# MrBeast Sues His Ghost Kitchen for Serving “Revolting” Burger

![The only thing beastly about the MrBeast Burger is, apparently, the allegedly "raw" and uncooked meat that comprises it.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/mrbeast-sues-ghost-kitchen.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Dave Kotinsky via Getty / Futurism\</em\>*

## See You In Court

The only thing beastly about the MrBeast's burgers is, apparently, the allegedly "raw" meat that comprises them — and now, the YouTube personality is suing a [ghost kitchen](<https://futurism.com/uber-guy-cloudkitchens>) company over it.

As [*Bloomberg* reports](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-31/mrbeast-sues-his-food-delivery-partner-over-inedible-burgers?in_source=embedded-checkout-banner>), James Donaldson, the 25-year-old mega-influencer known as [MrBeast](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/mr-beast-science-live-several-hundred-years>), is suing the Florida-based Virtual Dining Concepts for allegedly caring more about profits than food quality.

A [copy of the complaint](<https://pdfhost.io/v/U1WJ8IFh5_BeastDocuments>), which was filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that "MrBeast has not received a dime" from the deal, and that the quality of the burgers is so low that it's harming his reputation.

Social media reviews posted between [late 2020](<https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/kj04f2/mr_beast_burgers_is_a_waste_of_money_worst_burger/>) and [September 2022](<https://nypost.com/2022/09/27/average-mrbeast-burger-not-worth-the-hype-and-long-waits/>) do corroborate that MrBeast Burger had some very unhappy customers, with the suit highlighting complaints that the burgers were "revolting" and "inedible."

"MrBeast is being \[canceled\] over burgers," griped one unhappy diner in the suit, with another complaining that they'd "never had something so nasty."

https://twitter.com/totallynotdum/status/1393788579214766081

## Beast You Could Do

Donaldson [launched the MrBeast Burger brand with a splash](<https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/local/2022/09/04/mrbeast-burger-restaurant-opens-american-dream-mall-nj/65467642007/>) last year, with a partner gushing that he'd "created something truly wholesome and wonderful at the same time."

Now times have changed, with the suit alleging that Virtual Dining Concepts — which, again, allegedly has not paid MrBeast the royalties he's owed for lending his name and likeness to the venture — expanded into multiple foreign markets without Donaldson's "authorization, consent, or even knowledge."

"Virtual Dining Concepts was more focused on rapidly expanding the business as a way to pitch the virtual restaurant model to other celebrities for its own benefit," the complaint reads.

While this is far from the first time an [influencer has been embroiled](<https://www.frommers.com/blogs/arthur-frommer-online/blog_posts/travel-influencer-sued-for-telling-increasingly-bold-lies-to-build-her-brand>) in a [branding lawsuit](<https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/28/key-legal-issues-for-influencers-and-brands-and-how-to-deal-with-them/>), the situation is striking because of its massive scope and the sheer prominence of MrBeast.

At the end of the day? Another cautionary tale that something won't be good just because it's got a buzzy entity's name slapped on it. Maybe [AI startups should take note](<https://decrypt.co/144684/ai-gold-rush-generative-ai-4-trillion-into-global-economy-annually>).

**More on YouTubers:** [*Guy Straps Tiny Camera to His Farm Cat, Discovers It's Terrible at Hunting*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/guy-tiny-camera-farm-cat-rat>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)