YouTuber MrBeast attends the Kids' Choice Awards.Photo:Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
YouTube starMrBeastsays he was invited to join explorers on theTitansubmersible but ultimately turned down the offer to do so.
The content creator and philanthropist, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, wrote on Twitter Sunday that he was offered a spot on a trip to see theTitanicwreckage.
“I was invited earlier this month to ride the Titanic submarine, I said no,” MrBeast, 25, tweeted. “Kind of scary that I could have been on it.”
Though he did not specify if he was invited on theTitantrip that led to the implosion of the submersible, the creator shared a fragment of a text exchange he seemingly had with someone asking him to join.
“Also, I’m going to the Titanic in a submarine late this month,” the person wrote. “The team would be stoked to have you along.”
The YouTuber, known for documenting his philanthropic efforts among other things, revealed his decision to not board the submersible just days after OceanGate announced that thefive people onboard theTitansubmersible had died.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew,” the statement continued.
An OceanGate submersible.Ocean Gate / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ocean Gate / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Titaninitiallywent missinglast Sunday while venturing into the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean to view theTitanicwreckage, and it “lost all communication” with Canadian expedition vessel Polar Prince “approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes” into its dive, United States Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said at the time.
YouTuber Jake Koehler, best known as DALLYMYD,shared his own footagethis week of his canceledTitanexpedition with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush andTitanicexpertPaul-Henri Nargeolet— both of whom died on the submersible. The events in his clip took place “just days before the tragedy,” he wrote.
“With the whole world watching the rescue efforts of the missing submarine around theTitanic, I thought I’d share my experience of Mission III just a few weeks ago,” Koehler said in the opening of the video, which he posted on Friday.
“And if my dive wasn’t canceled, it could have been me inside that submarine today,” he added.
As Koehler explained, he wishes he “could go back in time and just tell them not to do it, but this is real life.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Las Vegas financier Jay Bloom and his son Sean Bloom were also hoping to take part in the “bucket list”Titantrip last week, but as 20-year-old Seantold PEOPLE, his father “didn’t go” because he warned him that the “submarine cannot survive going that deep in the ocean.”
“That is a small submarine, with five people crammed inside,” Sean said. “It just felt super unsafe. Something was telling me this was not the move.”
Jay told PEOPLE that while OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was a “good guy” when they met with him before their potential trip, “He didn’t want to hear anything that conflicted with his world view, and he would just dismiss it.”
He added that he felt the CEO did not think it would be dangerous for them to make the trip. “He was so passionate about this project, and he was such a believer. He drank his own Kool-Aid, and there was just no talking him out of it,” Jay explained. “I don’t think Stockton understood the risk himself, or didn’t want to understand the risk.”
source: people.com
