On top of the accusations of staging content, MrBeast is now being sued by Beast Games participants for sexual harassment and ‘gross mistreatment’.
It’s been a busy summer for MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, who is currently facing accusations of staging content and hosting illegal lotteries in his YouTube videos.
His new Amazon Prime Video series, called Beast Games – which will include 1,000 contestants fighting over a prize worth $5 million (£3.7 million) – was also criticised by participants back in August, who said they were ‘barely fed’.
Now five anonymous contestants in Beast Games are suing MrBeast and Amazon, claiming insufficient wages, sexual harassment, and ‘gross mistreatment and neglect’.
The plaintiffs filed a class action suit against MrBeast, Amazon, and related production companies at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.
According to the legal complaint, seen by The Washington Post, several contestants were hospitalised or suffered physical injuries during the show. Some were also derived of sleep, food, and medical care, the lawsuit states.
The complaint also mentions allegations of sexual harassment ‘throughout the production’.
‘The female contestants particularly and collectively suffered as a result of Defendants’ actions,’ the complaint says, adding:
‘The Beast Games work environment systematically fostered a culture of misogyny and sexism where Production Staff did nothing.’
The plaintiffs also argue that some of them haven’t been paid their travel expenses, and that the amount they were paid didn’t meet minimum wage requirements, based on how many hours they worked.
The complaint also alleges that contestants were misled about the odds of winning the $5 million cash prize.
MrBeast has reportedly hired celebrity attorney Alex Spiro, who has sent a cease and desist to the whistleblower who called the YouTuber a ‘fraud’ for staging content earlier this summer.
It’s unknown what MrBeast’s reaction is to the lawsuit, but Metro has contacted him for comment. There is no publicly known release date set for Beast Games yet.
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