Mr. Beast, the most viewed YouTuber and producer of Amazon's hit "Beast Games," has become one of the first high-profile entertainment figures to criticize President Trump's recent tariff increases.
The social media star, named Jimmy Donaldson, went to X (now Twitter) to react to the president's "Liberation Day" policies that, according to experts, may trigger inflation, decelerate business growth, reduce hiring, and even trigger a recession.
These new tariffs have already done huge harm to the economy, removing trillions of dollars from the stock market, which in turn is impacting retirement accounts for numerous Americans.
In his tweet, Mr. Beast particularly mentioned his chocolate bar company, Feastables, which is global in nature. He mentioned that the tariffs have ironically created it less expensive to make his products abroad due to the high tariffs of more than 20% on U.S. companies. "It's now significantly cheaper to create our chocolate bars we distribute all over the world NOT in America," he stated, further indicating that several countries do not get the same rate of tariff on the products he produces. Even after compensating farmers a living wage and using fair trade-certified beans, Mr. Beast revealed the shocking price hike he's dealing with, admitting it's been a "brutal" transition for his business.
"In passing, we pay our farmers a living wage, use fair trade certified beans, etc. So I was already paying a pretty penny on cocoa. An indiscriminate price hike was pretty cruel [not gonna lie]. We'll survive. Sympathize with small businesses though. Could really be a nail in the coffin for them," he continued to state.
Small businesses, which hire close to half of all private-sector employees in the U.S., are especially vulnerable to surprise tariff increases. They lack the cash buffers and flexibility to weather such drastic swings, so they stand a greater chance of being placed in a fiscal squeeze. Economists, business leaders, and other public officials have expressed this opinion in decrying the tariffs, including some high-profile Trump allies.
They also include more familiar faces like Dave Portnoy, Elon Musk, and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Musk has been particularly candid, referring to Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro as a "moron" and cautioning about the larger picture threats, such as "destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner" and damaging the American economy.
The entertainment industry, while not yet directly affected by the tariffs, might also be feeling the pinch in the near future. China, the world's second-largest movie market, will impose a 104% tariff on American films. This would greatly impact Hollywood's business in China, prohibiting or restricting the importation of American films. This would be a significant blow to the global distribution of American films, especially with Chinese audiences assuming an increasingly significant role in box office revenues.
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, two influential Chinese leaders—one being an editor at a state news agency and another being the son of a past Chinese party chief—recently proposed possible retaliatory measures that might include raising taxes on U.S. agricultural products, services, and drastically lowering or suspending the import of American films entirely.
This rising pushback reflects the seething resentments between America and China, and sectors ranging from Hollywood to farm crops likely to be worst-hit by such tariff spikes.
