MKBHD faces backlash for driving at 95mph in 35mph zone in a sponsored video

[midian182]

A hot potato: What do Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson, Linus Sebastian, and now Marques Brownlee have in common? They were all universally loved YouTube stars who later became embroiled in controversy. In the case of Brownlee, who recently faced criticism over his wallpaper app, the TechTuber is now being slammed for posting a video fully sponsored by DJI in which he drives a sports car at 95 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone, speeding past a sign warning drivers to slow down for children.

On November 11, Brownlee posted a video on his MKBHD YouTube channel titled How My Video Gear is Changing. Unlike his many impartial reviews, the entire video is sponsored by Chinese drone maker DJI.

"This can't even be considered a sponsored video anymore. It's literally just a 10-minute advertisement," one angry viewer wrote.

It's not just the sponsored element of the video that's causing a backlash. It originally showed a segment in which Brownlee drives at almost 100 miles per hour in a 35-mph zone. The fact that he drives past a sign warning drivers to slow down for children exacerbated the outrage.

In response to the outcry, Brownlee removed the clip of him speeding from the video and posted an apology on X, where he called his actions "inexcusable and dangerous." He also posted a pinned message on the YouTube video stating "I hear all your feedback on sponsored videos too."

Last video I did something pretty stupid. You might've already seen it, but maybe not so I'll address it here. There was a clip with the action cam of me test driving a car and going way to fast. Absolutely inexcusable and dangerous.

I've since cut it out of the video with…

– Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) November 12, 2024

Removing the offending section from the video has done little to placate viewers. One comment, which has 12,000 likes, accuses him of attempting to sweep the incident under the rug, while another states that editing out the crime does not make it disappear.

Brownlee has seen his reputation for being a down-to-earth, "real" TechTuber tarnished in recent months. He was blasted in September after releasing a wallpaper app with a $12 per month/$50 per year premium option that users say has excessive and lengthy ads and asks for too many permissions. He later made changes, including reducing the number of ads and allowing users to download standard-definition images without seeing ads, though the price for the premium option remains unchanged.

With his YouTube ad income, estimated around $8.35 million, combined with his ads, merchandise, sponsorships, podcasts, and real estate, Brownlee is believed to have a net worth anywhere between $16 million and $40 million. His tech reviews are so popular that there were questions raised over the influence he has on the industry following his video on the Humane AI Pin, which he called the worst product he's ever reviewed.

There's no doubt that Brownlee's latest video will prove to be on the same level as the Linus Tech Tips clip that led to multiple claims against the company, the pausing of all content production, and Linus Sebastian losing a lot of fans.

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MKBHD faces backlash for driving at 95mph in 35mph zone in a sponsored video

 

[Dimitriid]

Speeding on a 35 mph zone certainly is irresponsible certainly. Just sadly, not as irresponsible as his softball interviews of guys like Elon Musk or Bill Gates, I've lost faith on that guy since those.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Speeding on a 35 mph zone certainly is irresponsible certainly. Just sadly, not as irresponsible as his softball interviews of guys like Elon Musk or Bill Gates, I've lost faith on that guy since those.

Not everyone is full of seething hatred for people they disagree with. I'm sorry this is your view of the world.

 

[Phylop]

With all his money, he could certainly afford to do this on a closed course instead of a residential area. I understand that most people speed a little from time to time, including myself, but I've never done 95 in a 35 mph residential area where there could be pedestrians, cars pulling out in front of you, etc.

Also, it's not like this guy has never driven a fast car before, he must know it could accelerate to multiples of the speed limit within just a few seconds. What makes this even more astonishingly stupid is brazenly posting video evidence of the crime online.

At the same time, I appreciate that he apologized and said he would never do anything like that again. I'm willing to forgive as long as it never happens again. If the local government wants to charge him, that's fine too.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Post and delete.
Apologize and repeat...

 

[airbornex]

Man, Marques really went from ‘testing tech’ to ‘testing fans’ patience.’ First the pricey wallpaper app, and now a 10-minute DJI ad with a 100mph joyride? Maybe he needs to review the concept of slowing down…literally and figuratively.

 

[AnilD]

He's still great, but it's a huge burden to carry trying to please everyone.

 

[kira setsu]

Man, Marques really went from ‘testing tech’ to ‘testing fans’ patience.’ First the pricey wallpaper app, and now a 10-minute DJI ad with a 100mph joyride? Maybe he needs to review the concept of slowing down…literally and figuratively.

he hasnt even scratched the surface of annoying fans yet, he's done some odd things but compared to LTT and other techtubers he's still pretty alright.

he's quick to apologize which is worth something imho.

 

[Starfals]

So stupid to drive so fast. So many kids get killed daily... ive seen many cases. So many drivers die too, especially young. Cus young usually = stupid. I didnt expect MKBHD to do that.. oh well. I wonder what the law will say? Its not legal in many places to drive that fast.

 

[captaincranky]

Not everyone is full of seething hatred for people they disagree with. I'm sorry this is your view of the world.

MSNBC / NBC is reporting that Musk 's net worth increased by 70 billion dollars since he got trimp elected. What's your take?

 

[noel24]

Well, everybody is talking about that video, so It worked, right? ;-)

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

MSNBC / NBC is reporting that Musk 's net worth increased by 70 billion dollars since he got trimp elected. What's your take?

My net worth increased too since Trump got elected. Why do you think that is Mr. Cranky? Maybe because more people decided to invest in TSLA??

 

[captaincranky]

My net worth increased too since Trump got elected. Why do you think that is Mr. Cranky? Maybe because more people decided to invest in TSLA??

Well, with all the money Musk spent getting trimp elected, I imagine if Tesla US runs out of cars to sell, Musk will be able to bring cars in from China with no tariffs. So, congratulations, I suppose. Although, the stock market did seem excited when trimp won. I suppose we'll see how long that lasts.

 

[mailpup]

Back on topic please. Hint: It's not about Musk or Trump.

 

[James Ryan]

With all his money, he could certainly afford to do this on a closed course instead of a residential area. I understand that most people speed a little from time to time, including myself, but I've never done 95 in a 35 mph residential area where there could be pedestrians, cars pulling out in front of you, etc.

Also, it's not like this guy has never driven a fast car before, he must know it could accelerate to multiples of the speed limit within just a few seconds. What makes this even more astonishingly stupid is brazenly posting video evidence of the crime online.

At the same time, I appreciate that he apologized and said he would never do anything like that again. I'm willing to forgive as long as it never happens again. If the local government wants to charge him, that's fine too.

He tried to cover it up first by cutting the part out of the video but people had already copied it and screen shot it in bulk so the apology came after. It was done because he had to not because he felt it was the right thing to do sadly.

 

[captaincranky]

Well, "in my neck of the hoods", when the weather's hot and sticky, that's the time to do donuts with your 'vicky'. (Crown Victoria).

The police have taken to taking cars, ATVs and such., off of people that "exhibit these types of behaviors". But AFAIK, none of them are 'influencers', and that's likely they don't get a free pass.

 

[Later]

I just want to say what I think they have in common. All 3 after getting a bit famous started to do stupid **** and from the humble dude that loved technology back in the days. That is what fame does to people, it turn's them into less smart people for the sake of fame and sponsors that if they tell them to shave their heads, they will do it.

 

[Phylop]

He tried to cover it up first by cutting the part out of the video but people had already copied it and screen shot it in bulk so the apology came after. It was done because he had to not because he felt it was the right thing to do sadly.

There are various reasons for removing that part of the video. The sponsor might have asked for it to be removed, probably didn't want to promote the wreckless activity, etc. Removing that part of the video was the right thing to do, whether or not he was trying to cover it up. He was pretty much obligated to remove it.

I dont think removing the video is evidence of trying to cover it up. What was an attempt at covering it up was when he blurred the driver instrument cluster before posting the video. He didn't realize the passenger side also has a display showing the speedometer and forgot to blur that. Although, with or without a speedometer, one could probably still tell he was going way too fast.