Five contestants from a reality competition show hosted by MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against his production company and Amazon. The lawsuit, submitted on Monday in a Los Angeles court, claims the contestants faced unsafe working conditions, were denied payment, and were subjected to a “culture of misogyny and sexism.”
The show, titled “Beast Games,” was announced in March and boasts a $5 million prize and over 1,000 contestants. The 54-page lawsuit details allegations of “unreasonable, unsafe, and unlawful employment conditions,” resulting in several contestants requiring hospitalization. Plaintiffs reported being inadequately fed and lacking access to hygienic products and medical care.
The lawsuit includes claims of sexual harassment, although many specifics were redacted. It also alleges that the production obtained an “illegal contract” and misclassified contestants as volunteers to secure $2.5 million in tax credits from the state of Nevada, despite a production budget of $100 million.
A recent New York Times report highlighted dangerous conditions on set, with unnamed contestants describing incidents of people leaving the arena on stretchers and witnessing others vomiting and fainting.
In response, a spokesperson for MrBeast attributed complications during the shoot to a CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather, and other logistical issues, noting that a formal review of the production has begun. MrBeast has not commented directly on the lawsuit, and Amazon declined to provide a statement.
“Beast Games” aims to be “the largest game show in history,” surpassing Netflix’s “Squid Game: The Challenge,” although it does not yet have a release date. MrBeast is one of YouTube’s most popular creators, with 245 million subscribers and videos that often exceed 100 million views.
This lawsuit follows previous controversies, including a resurfaced 2017 video in which MrBeast made an inappropriate comment in response to a viewer about “selling” Black people. A spokesperson acknowledged that the star’s language was inappropriate.
