This week, Rolling Stone unveiled their power ranking of the “25 Most Influential Creators of 2025,” a head-spinning list that includes names like Jake “@octopusslover8” Shane and children’s entertainer Miss Rachel.
At #7 on the list is YouTuber MrBeast and, regardless of what you think of the internet-age huckster, his high placement is hard to deny given his follower count is in the hundreds of millions, and that his frequent viral stunts—involving random people doing ridiculous things for massive amounts of money—often make headlines.
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You’d think that, given all the attention he gets on a daily basis, MrBeast wouldn’t bother defending himself against every criticism that comes his way (and there are many) or speaking up about every perceived slight. And yet the all-powerful creator seemed pretty hurt after he was outranked on the list by one person in particular.
Just above him at #6 is out gay comedian, actor, and podcast host Caleb Hearon, a beloved creator whose career has deservedly taken off over the past few years.
In a since deleted post on X, MrBeast shared a screenshot of Hearon’s placement on the list and wrote, “According to this list a guy with 1 million followers in more influential than me. What did I do to piss of the Rolling Stones.”
First of all, Beast, it’s Rolling Stone the magazine, not the classic rock band. You… do know that right?
Clearly the YouTuber wasn’t familiar with Hearon to begin with, otherwise we don’t imagine he would’ve dared come for the internet darling whose fans turned up in his mentions to defend their fave and drag MrBeast left and right.
Addressing MrBeast directly, user @DiabolicalSpuds writes, “I wanted you to know that Caleb is a comedian who makes many laugh and you are some sort of Willy Wonka marionette being puppeted by the algorithm.” Ouch.
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Meanwhile, @trashcanpapi doesn’t mince words, remarking that this entire situation is especially funny because MrBeast “genuinely was like, ‘get a load of this loser’ and twitter was like well no actually Caleb is an icon and is adored whereas MrBeast is the devil.”
And then there’s fellow YouTuber Rosanana Pansino, who’s been very vocal about the allegations of an unsafe working conditions on the set of MrBeast’s Amazon reality series Beast Games, so you know she was all too happy to pile on:
“MrBeast’s mask slipping this much in less than a year has been fascinating to watch,” she writes on X. “Sorry Jimmy, Caleb has something you’ll never have: A personalty.”
In other words, MrBeast came for the wrong guy.
Thankfully, he had the good sense to take the initial post down, eventually responding to one critic by sharing that he finally watched some of Hearon’s stuff “and it’s actually good.” He added: “I deleted the tweet I don’t want the smoke.” Welp, too late for that.
The good news is all of MrBeast’s dubious whining has prompted the internet to sing Hearon’s praises—not that we needed the excuse.
And for the few of you out there who weren’t already fans of Caleb Hearon’s, welcome to the club!
“I think it’s radical that I don’t dislike myself as a fat person in a society that hates fat people,” Hearon told Rolling Stone, underscoring why we’re so lucky to have him out in the world, kicking *ss and taking names. “I want fat people—especially little fat gay kids in red states— o watch my stuff and go ‘Oh, actually, a cool life is possible for me.’”
The Kansas City, MO-based comic rose to prominence thanks to his hilarious videos on the app formerly known as Twitter, and began picking up screen roles in the likes of the Fargo TV series and Jurassic World Dominion.
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Since early 2024, he’s hosted the chart-topping comedy podcast So True With Caleb Hearon, which frequently produces viral clips and shot him to even more fame and acclaim, leading to appearances in Overcompensating, a scene-stealing role in the rom-com Sweethearts, and a part in the highly anticipated sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2. He also recently teamed up with Lily Wachowski who’s set to direct Hearon’s first star vehicle Trash Mountain.
But before that, Hearon will debut his first-ever stand-up special on HBO Max next month. Though its title and premiere date have yet to be announced, we have to imagine he’s not mad about the extra boost in publicity courtesy of MrBeast.
In fact, the comedian shared a screenshot of MrBeasts’s X post on his Instagram thanking Rolling Stone for the honor, which only continued the love-fest with comments of support from famous friends like Benito Skinner, Hannah Einbinder, Larry Owens, and Ayo Edebiri, who jokingly warns, “Not you about to get sent to a remote island for 100 days.”
Anyway, the moral of this story? Put some respect on Caleb Hearon’s name! And do yourself a favor by catching up on the So True archives stat!
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