YouTube star Jimmy Donalson, popularly known as MrBeast, pulled a dark yet humorous April Fool's prank that involved burning 20 million trees and blinding 1,000 kids, but it was all in jest and a reference to his past charitable efforts.
What Happened: On April 1, MrBeast took to X, formerly Twitter, and said that he had burned 20 million trees for his upcoming YouTube video.
“Proud to announce I've burned down 20,000,000 trees! Can't wait to upload this video,” he wrote, causing a stir among his millions of followers.
As people reacted with confusion and humor, one fan jokingly asked, "How many kids did you blind, MrBeast?"
In response, MrBeast said, "Blinded a thousand so I could have more to cure," again referencing his past philanthropic efforts.
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Why It's Important: These statements were obviously jokes, but they did call back to two notable philanthropic projects MrBeast has been involved in.
The first is his Team Trees initiative, which gained significant attention in 2022 when he and fellow YouTuber Mark Rober launched the campaign to plant 20 million trees.
As of 2025, the project has surpassed its original goal, reaching more than 24 million trees planted.
His second reference, the blinding 1,000 kids joke, is a nod to his 2023 video "1,000 Blind People See For The First Time," which saw MrBeast financially supporting surgeries to restore sight for 1,000 individuals.
Image via Shutterstock
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