Chris Tyson, MrBeast Sidekick, Reveals Gender Journey on Social Media

Chris Tyson, a popular content creator who frequently appears on YouTuber MrBeast’s channel, revealed on Twitter today that they are taking hormone replacement therapy.

“HRT, and it’s only been 2 months,” Tyson posted on Twitter, quote-tweeting a MrBeast fan who shared a screengrab of them in the YouTuber’s most recent video, commenting on their changed appearance.

In a follow-up tweet on their alt account, Tyson, who says on Twitter they go by any pronouns, clarified their stance on gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy, quote-tweeting a fan who suggested Republicans are trying to “erase the trans community.”

“Informed consent HRT saved my and many others’ lives,” Tyson wrote. “The hurdles gnc [gender non-conforming] people have to jump through to get life-saving gender-affirming healthcare in a 1st world country is wild to me. Just let people make informed decisions about their own bodies.”

A longtime friend of MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, from childhood, Tyson appeared in many of Donaldson’s earlier videos, including one where they wrap the YouTuber in 100 layers of Saran wrap. Tyson has since become a permanent fixture on Donaldson’s channel, along with a slew of Donaldson’s childhood friends, many of whom have carved out their own careers as popular content creators.

Donaldson got his start on YouTube when he was 11 years old, primarily making videos of himself playing video games and estimating YouTubers’ net worth before transitioning to stunts and cash giveaways. He has since built a massive content production space in his hometown in Greenville, North Carolina, where he lives with Tyson and other members of his posse.

Donaldson has more than 140 million subscribers, with many of his fans being young children, making him the most-subscribed individual YouTuber in the world. Tyson, meanwhile, has almost a million followers on his own independent Twitter account.

Both Donaldson and Tyson have faced criticism for problematic past posts, with Donaldson catching flak for a video he posted in 2016 referencing a popular transphobic meme. Tyson apologized for posting homophobic and transphobic memes of their own in April 2021. At the time, Tyson stated the memes stemmed from their struggles with their own sexuality, having come out as bisexual in 2020.

In response to Tyson’s posts, both Donaldson and MrBeast cameraman Karl Jacobs, who also regularly appears on his channel, posted supportive messages. “Gotchu,” Jacobs wrote with two heart emojis, while Donaldson wrote, “Gotchu” with three heart emojis: “I did one more heart then Karl because I’m a better friend,” he wrote.

Tyson’s revelation of their own gender journey coincides with an onslaught of anti-transgender rhetoric in the right-wing media and a slew of bills in state legislatures targeting transgender youth. In January, former President Trump announced that if re-elected, he would abolish gender-affirming care for minors, referring to it as “child sexual mutilation.” (Studies show that the vast majority of young people who receive gender-affirming care in adolescence continue with therapy in adulthood.)

Many fans of Tyson and MrBeast responded to Tyson’s announcement by parroting such rhetoric, with one tweeting, “there goes a father figure the kid won’t be able to look up to.” (Tyson has a two-and-a-half-year-old child named Tucker.)

In response, Tyson wrote, “This is just more dog whistling that somehow trans and gnc folks aren’t safe around kids. Tucker begs for me to come back when I leave for like 2 days to film. He is so loved and happy. Kids arent born with hate, it’s taught by people like you. And my child will only know love.”

From Rolling Stone US.