MrBeast, the number one most subscribed to YouTube channel, and Amazon have been sued by contestants of the Beast Games competition show, alleging sexual harassment, "chronic mistreatment," and more.
As reported by Variety, five unnamed participants of the show, which reportedly pits 2,000 contestants against each other for a single cash prize of $5 million and has already had several allegations raised against it in the press, have had a class action lawsuit filed against both MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, and Amazon over the alleged mistreatment.
According to the lawsuit, participants were not paid properly, experienced "emotional distress," did not receive uninterrupted meal breaks or rest breaks, and deprived them of medical care, food, sleep, and the necessities of basic hygiene. Female participants were allegedly subject to "a hostile work environment."
The lawsuit was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on September 16 and seeks class action status on behalf of all affected contestants. It demands Amazon and Mr Beast's company pay alleged unpaid wages, expenses, and punitive monetary damages.
Beast Games was announced as "the biggest reality competition" of all time in March. It looked to turn MrBeast's regular YouTube formula of having strangers compete for grand prizes into a series for Amazon's Prime Video platform.
The show has not yet aired but began filming in mid-July according to Time, which reviewed a video from MrBeast given to contestants that revealed the Beast Games would have 2,000 contestants instead of the previously announced 1,000. The increase would reportedly allow content to be filmed for MrBeast's YouTube channel as the first thousand competitors were eliminated, with the surviving 1,000 put through to the actual Amazon show. This was the first of several instances of divergent realities alleged in the lawsuit.
"While participants knew upon signing the contract at the production’s inception that they were facing a potentially long and challenging competition, they allege getting a lot more than they bargained for," lawyers representing the plaintiffs said.
"Several contestants [ended] up hospitalized, while others reported suffering physical and mental complications while being subjected to chronic mistreatment, degradation and, for the female contestants, hostile working conditions."
The lawyers said the suit also seeks to "establish a pattern of sexual harassment," citing an alleged employee handbook called "How to Succeed in MrBeast Production." It allegedly states: "If talent wants to draw a dick on the white board in the video or do something stupid, let them... Really do everything you can to empower the boys when filming and help them make content. Help them be idiots."
One female plaintiff said they were a fan of MrBeast's so wanted to join the show. "I expected to be challenged, but I didn’t think I would be treated like nothing — less than nothing," she added. "And as one of the women, I can say it absolutely felt like a hostile environment for us. We honestly could not have been respected less — as people, much less employees — if they tried."
Participants completed contracts and were promised compensation for their services according to the plaintiffs' lead counsel Robert Pafundi of Pafundi Law Firm. "Their expectation of compensation, along with them being consistently under the control and supervision of the production staff, makes them employees under California law," he said.
This serves as the basis for the lawsuit, as contestants "were entitled to, and denied, certain protections," Pafundi said. "And when you add to that the extreme neglect, degradation, harassment and inhumane conditions, it’s quite simply a massive dereliction of duty, for which the defendants must and will now be held accountable."
It's unclear what other compensation was offered beyond the single $5 million cash prize to the winner, but one anonymous contestant told Time that eliminated contestants were offered a $1,000 compensation prize, but this was allegedly taken from them once contestants had moved backstage. Production crew promised the proper prize would arrive later, but the contestant said they had not received it in the roughly one month since. Several participants told The New York Times they had since been contacted by production staff and offered the $1,000, however.
Time initially voiced several allegations against MrBeast's company and Amazon in the aforementioned report. An eliminated contestant named Jenae Reidy said she received "a hard-boiled egg, two slices of cucumber, and basically one third of a stick of celery that was also cut into thirds, two carrot sticks, and a quarter cup of plain oatmeal" for one meal.
Reidy also said water was not readily available, and contestants were given drinks from water and iced tea brand Liquid Death to drink and MrBeast's snack brand Feastables to eat on camera for sponsored content. Contestants allegedly slept in sleeping backs on the turf in the middle of the stadium where production took place.
Time was also told that one game, where contestants split into teams of 400 and had to compete to lift a 10,000 pound boulder, was disorganised behind the scenes and resulted in a "mosh pit" style environment as people rushed to join teams. The contestant said one girl nearby had a panic attack and others screamed as they avoided being knocked down.
Another game saw a rope get tangled around someone's neck according to both Reidy and the anonymous contestant, but "production was yelling at the people that were behind the ones that fell to keep pulling."
The aforementioned report from The New York Times corroborated several details and told similar stories of alleged mistreatment. Participants had their medication taken from them ahead of production, for example, but several said they did not receive it on time, including one who needed insulin. Participants instead received their medication hours or days after their scheduled dosing times.
Neither MrBeast nor Amazon have released a response to the lawsuit at the time of this article's publication.
Image Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Image
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
