While YouTube star MrBeast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, seems keen on buying TikTok, on Wednesday he claimed he has yet to join a formal bid to acquire the U.S. operations of the popular social media platform.
“Several buyers are holding ongoing discussions with Jimmy,” his spokesperson Matthew Hiltzik told The Associated Press. “He has no exclusive agreements with any of them.”
In response to a post referencing his purported plans to make an offer to TikTok, Donaldson said “big things” are on the way.
“The leading groups who are all credible bidding on Tik Tok have reached out for us to help them, I’m excited to partner/make this a reality,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
This comes as law firm Paul Hastings LLP on Tuesday said it was advising a group of investors led by Jesse Tinsley, the chief executive of Recruiter.com, “in an all-cash offer to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations and various assets from ByteDance Ltd.”
The statement reads, “The investor group comprises institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals, including media/internet personality Mr. Beast.”
Donaldson has kept his followers updated on his plans.
“I’m on a private jet right now, about to put in my official offer for this platform. I might become your guys’ new CEO,” he said in a video posted on his TikTok account on Tuesday. “I’m super excited.”
He also previously indicated that “many billionaires” approached him once he first declared his interest in the platform.
TikTok’s future in the U.S., though, remains uncertain.
After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law requiring the platform to divest its Chinese ownership to avoid getting banned from app stores in the U.S., TikTok chose to temporarily go dark in the country. The platform restored access to U.S. users on Sunday once Trump made clear he would sign an executive order giving the company more time to comply with the legislation. Trump followed through on his pledge Monday.
While U.S. users who previously downloaded the app can still access it, the platform appears to be unavailable on U.S. app stores, at least for now.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity broadcast on Wednesday evening, Trump appeared to downplay the national security concerns around the app over its ties to China.
Trump asked, “Is it that important for China to be spying on young people, on young kids watching crazy videos?”
Earlier this week, Trump said he wouldn’t be opposed to the prospect of Elon Musk or Oracle chief technology officer Larry Ellison buying TikTok.
Trump added that he’s met with the owners of TikTok, noting that the company, which has a user base of 170 million Americans, would be “worthless” if it lost access to the U.S. market.
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“What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is ‘buy it and give half to the United States of America, half and we’ll give you the permit,’” he said.
Billionaire Frank McCourt, who is leading a formal bid to acquire the platform, said he wouldn’t mind splitting ownership of TikTok with the U.S. government.
He told CNBC, “I’m okay with whatever is legal … and the U.S. government is OK with.”