TOGETHER WITH

It's Sunday and here’s a handpicked selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

But first, Mariah Carey may be one of the world’s biggest celebs, but she’s also a mom—so when she got the chance to embarrass her kid while he was livestreaming on Twitch, she took it.

CREATOR COMMOTION

Creators are donning ninja masks, filing lawsuits, and bringing chips to Coachella

The return: One of YouTube’s oldest web series is back in action. Ask a Ninja first spun its shuriken on the platform way back in 2005, but vanished into the mist four years after reaching its heyday in 2011. This week, after years of radio silence, it’s officially returned with host/channel co-creator Douglas Sarine resuming his role as the eponymous ninja.

The lawsuit: MrBeast is suing a former employee, and it’s not DogPack404. Instead, the creator says former IT contractor Leroy Nabors committed misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of NDA/contract, and unauthorized surveillance within Beast HQ. That resulted in Nabors allegedly having access to “thousands of Beast’s most confidential files.”

The festival run: David Dobrik’s cashing in his health kick. After his fitness-focused return to vlogging, the creator is launching his own potato chip brand, with bags ringing in at just 60 calories. And, to get the health-conscious crowd interested, he’s handing out 1,000 bags at Coachella this weekend.

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SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS

This week in platform news…

The restructuring: TikTok Shop is raking in millions—but those numbers don’t seem to be satisfying the company, because it just laid off a portion of its U.S.-based Ecommerce Governance and Experience team. The layoffs follow February cuts to TikTok’s Global Trust and Safety Team, as well as some executive exits.

The unbanning: Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has spent the past two years establishing himself as a cool guy who listens to creators’ needs, in part by spearheading changes to monetization, multistreaming, and bans. But he’s also walked back some decisions from before his time—one of which is the ban on Adin Ross, an Andrew Tate devotee who was booted off the platform for hateful conduct. Clancy allegedly told unhappy Twitch staffers that unbanning Ross was about giving him a “second chance.” Who knew you could be banned eight separate times and still qualify for a second chance?

The faux pas: The internet’s latest favorite neurodivergent catnip game is Balatro, a randomized dungeon-crawler in card deck form. Players advance through rounds by playing poker hands and collecting special ability cards—but it’s not actually real poker. This was apparently difficult for YouTube to understand. The platform started age-restricting videos of gameplay for showing gambling. After complaints, YouTube reversed the decision and said it’s “conducting a platform-wide review” of what happened, but sheesh! Keep up with the culture, YT!

THE BIZ

As tariff fears abound, Jergens and Best Buy are tapping into the power of influencers

The photo op: Tanning lotion brand Jergens Natural Glow just ferried a group of influencers from the U.S. to the sunny shores of Tulum, a resort town on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Attending creators included Halley Kate, Bonnie Wyrick, Jaz Smith, Soo Youn Lee, and Bran Flakezz. The adventure was part getaway, part biz dev: influencers all got professional photographs posing with Jergens products, along with luxury accommodations and peer networking.

The creator recs: Speaking of legacy brands pairing with influencers, Best Buy‘s new program is giving creators like Linus Tech Tips their own digital storefronts. It’s basically the same as Amazon‘s creator program, where they can make public lists of recommended products and get a kickback every time someone buys. Not a bad gig for YouTube‘s bevy of tech-savvy creators.

The tariff talks: While long-lived brands bet big on influencer marketing, the National Association of Broadcasters‘ annual trade show turned its attention to the possible implications of Trump’s tariffs. Although this year’s NAB Show had a lot to do with artificial intelligence, the potential effect of tariffs on American industries—and thus American brands’ advertising budgets—was clearly the talk of the town.

WATCH THIS 📺

Dude Perfect’s going steady with BODYARMOR

The partnership: Dude Perfect has been cozy with bev brand BODYARMOR for a year now as part of its ongoing effort to secure long-term sponsorships that go beyond just paying for videos. Now, the five-man creator group is following up the release of its first custom flavor, Perfect Pop, with a sour punch.

BODYARMOR and the dudes teamed up to announce their latest collab in a series of videos, including this one that might slightly exaggerate the shininess of a bottle of Sour Apple. If you’re still on board sans shimmer, the new flavor will be available on Walmart shelves for a buck apiece from now through June.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.