Last week, the world was captivated by the missing submersible, Titan, which vanished on an expedition to explore the Titanic wreckage.
When news broke on Thursday that the Titan had imploded, killing its five passengers, headlines tracking the sub’s air supply and potential whereabouts were replaced with a slew of claims from individuals who allegedly turned down an opportunity to ride on the Titan.
YouTube phenomenon MrBeast is one of those individuals.
“I was invited earlier this month to ride the titanic submarine, I said no,” MrBeast tweeted on Sunday. “Kind of scary that I could have been on it.” He accompanied his tweet with proof of his invitation in the form of a screen-shotted text message.
“Also I’m going to the Titanic in a submarine late this month. The team would be stoked to have you along,” read the screen-shotted text. MrBeast did not share who the message was from.
MrBeast — one of the most-followed YouTubers in the world — is known for pioneering philanthropic stunt videos such as “Giving 20,000 Shoes To Kids In Africa” and “We Powered a Remote Island.” Taking part in a high-risk journey to the Titanic wreckage certainly feels on-brand for the popular stunt YouTuber, but he did not share why he declined the alleged invite.
Fellow YouTube star Jake Koehler, aka DALLYMYD, posted a nearly 30-minute video to his channel sharing his experience with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and adventurer Paul-Henri Nargeolet — both of whom died on the vessel last week — while he prepared to ride in the submersible. Koehler’s mission was canceled due to poor weather conditions.
“In this video I’m sharing my personal experience with OceanGate Expeditions just days before the tragedy,” Koehler wrote in the YouTube video’s description.
“Who knows, maybe we would have left that platform and maybe we would have imploded,” Koehler said in his video. “My deepest condolences go out to the families of the passengers aboard who lost their lives on the Titan submersible.”
Karine Smith, a TikTok influencer, claims she was booked for the ill-fated OceanGate trip but canceled at the last minute, she shared in a TikTok video.
“Luckily my mind just told me, ‘Karine, don’t go,’” she said in the clip. “Imagine if I hadn’t canceled, I would be with the fishes right now.”
Titanic-obsessed Sean Bloom claims he turned down the “bucket list” opportunity to see the shipwreck with his Las Vegas financier father, Jay Bloom. Sean Bloom claims he warned his father that the submersible seemed “super unsafe,” per People.
“The whole reason my dad didn’t go was because I told him, ‘Dude, this submarine cannot survive going that deep in the ocean,’” Bloom, 20, told People. “I was worried because I didn’t think the submarine could withstand that kind of pressure and it wasn’t meant to go that far.”
Jay Bloom revealed that Rush flew out to Las Vegas in March to have a conversation about the deep dive and potential safety issues.
“He basically told me he knew I’m a helicopter pilot, and he said, ‘This is safer than flying a helicopter. It’s safer than scuba diving.’ And at lunch he said, ‘It’s safer than crossing the street,’” he recounted, per People.
“He was a good guy, great heart, really believed in what he was doing and saying. But he didn’t want to hear anything that conflicted with his world view, and he would just dismiss it.”