After spending 100 hours in ancient Maya temples, MrBeast’s latest YouTube video has sparked backlash from Mexican officials.
On May 10, 2025, Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson uploaded a video where he explored ancient Maya temples in Mexico, and spent 100 hours inside them.
The 15-minute video has received 55 million views in the four days since it was uploaded. The video focuses on Donaldson and his team exploring several different Maya temples in Southern Mexico.
However, Mexican officials have hit out against MrBeast’s video with claims that it “distorted information.”
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History issued a press release on Monday, May 12, commenting on MrBeast’s visit to the ancient Maya temples.
In it, they confirm that the YouTubers’ visit had the necessary permits and that the heritage of the sites was respected throughout the entire time he was there. However, they did share some corrections for the final version of the video that was uploaded.
“In the case of Chichén Itzá, we clarify that there was no drone flight inside El Castillo, as falsely mentioned in the video; This flight was carried out outside the structure,” reads the press release. The INAH also mentioned that the video has “extensive audiovisual post-production work.”
“It should be noted that, evidently, the video has extensive audiovisual post-production work and alludes to events that did not occur, such as the fact that the producers never descended from a helicopter, nor spent the night inside the archaeological zone nor did they have in their possession any pre-Hispanic mask, since the one they present is clearly a contemporary reproduction,” they said.
“All of them are false assertions that obey the theatricality of the YouTuber in question.”
Despite the “distorted information” offered by MrBeast, the INAH says that his video can motivate the interest of younger people in Mexico and the world to learn about their ancestral cultures.
This isn’t the first time the YouTuber has visited ancient temples for a YouTube video. Back in December, he visited the pyramids in Egypt for a total of 100 hours after getting private access to them.
Content shared from www.dexerto.com.