Virtual Dining Concepts on Tuesday shot back at YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson’s (aka MrBeast) criticisms of MrBeast Burger, stating his lawsuit was “riddled with false statements and inaccuracies.” 

Donaldson officially sued the company on Monday, alleging his delivery-only brand namesake suffered from poor quality control, was delivered late, and was wrapped in unbranded packaging. The court documents were filled with examples of negative reviews from customers and featured a picture of what appeared to be an uncooked burger. The goal of the lawsuit is to shut down MrBeast Burger permanently. Donaldson alleged that the virtual restaurant has caused “material, irreparable harm to MrBeast’s reputation.”

Virtual Dining Concepts described the court documents as a “thinly-veiled” distraction from Donaldson’s breaches of agreements, including “false, disparaging” comments made toward the MrBeast brand and Virtual Dining Concepts. In June, Donaldson wrote in now-deleted tweets that he was “moving on from MrBeast Burger” and that “the company I partnered with won’t let me stop even though it’s terrible for my brand.”

The company claimed that he recently tried to negotiate a new deal to “serve his own monetary interests” and used “bullying tactics.” Virtual Dining Concepts stated that when it refused to give up more of the company to him, he filed the “ill-advised and meritless lawsuit seeking to undermine the MrBeastBurger brand and terminate his existing contractual obligations without cause.”

“We had hoped Mr. Donaldson would act honorably,” Virtual Dining Concepts’ lawyers said in a prepared statement. “Instead, having elevated greed over his word and the truth, he will face the consequences in court when VDC files [its] claims against him.”

While the legal war moves forward, the company said MrBeast Burger is continuing to operate normally. 

Virtual Dining Concepts also responded to Donaldson’s accusation that his reputation was harmed, stating that his “notoriety has grown exponentially” since MrBeast Burger debuted in late 2020. 

“VDC takes quality and customer reviews very seriously,” the company’s representation said. “VDC consistently strives to improve quality and customer satisfaction, and any negative customer reviews reflect the experience and opinion of a very small minority of MrBeast Burger customers.”

Virtual Dining Concepts was founded three years ago as a solution for restaurants during the hardest times of the pandemic. The company partners with celebrities to create delivery-only brands that operators can make in their own kitchens to boost revenue. 

MrBeast Burger, arguably its most popular creation, expanded to roughly 1,700 locations in 2022, almost doubling its total from the year before.