MrBeast sued over his new reality show The Beast Games as contestants allege 'chronic mistreatment'

Back in August MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, first faced complaints after contestants on his reality show The Beast Games claimed they were not fed properly.

When the show was first announced in March, the star, told his 29 million followers on X that the series was 'insane'. Declaring the new series as "the biggest reality competition series ever", he wrote that it is 'big news' for gamers. The new show, which had been picked up by Amazon Prime Video to air in 240 countries, was part of Donaldson’s cultural expansion beyond YouTube - where his channel has 307 million subscribers. It was billed as seeing 1,000 contestants compete for a $5 million cash prize (around £4 million) - the largest giveaway in streaming and television history.

But now, weeks after the controversy first came to light, the people who took part have sued the production companies involved in the show, which include Donaldson and Amazon. In a case filed at a Los Angeles court on Monday (September 16), participants allege they weren't paid, were subjected to unsafe conditions and experienced sexual harassment.

Documents say MrB2024 is "believed to be owned in whole or part, directly or indirectly", by MrBeast - who is the biggest YouTuber in the world. In the legal papers, parts of which have been redacted and uploaded by Variety, five anonymous contestants have brought claims on behalf of everyone who took part.

They claim the production team kept them under surveillance, controlled when they slept, what they wore and denied them privacy and access to the outside world. Furthemore, they say that meals were provided to them "sporadically and sparsely" which "endangered [their] health and welfare".

The 54-page document also details allegations of an unsafe environment with contestants claiming they were kept in small areas and there werre dangerous sets. In addition, they alledge there were insufficient background checks carried out on all of the contestants and, as a result, convicted criminals were allowed to participate. It’s also alleged that some of the contestants were physically injured but were not given adequate access to medical care.

The claimants also said the set was said to have "fostered a culture of misogyny and sexism", creating a "hostile environment" for women which included sexual harassment. "This was not only noticed but allowed," according to a statement within the document. "And apparently this was allowed because of marching orders from the top."

Donaldson’s companies cast 2,000 people to take part in an initial tryout of sorts at Allegiant Stadium in July, with 1,000 of them presumably advancing to the actual show. The 1,000 participants who made it through the Las Vegas competition moved on to the next round, shot in Toronto in August.

Attorneys for the anonymous Beast Games contestants said in a statement about 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. Several contestants ending 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 contestants' lawyers say they should be compensated for their time which they say was "essential labour" for the production, stating they were "not working for free" and should have been classed as employees. All the claimants are seeking thousands of dollars for everyone who took part to cover "unpaid wages". Two of the listed claimants who are women are also seeking further compensation for the allegations of a hostile workplace.

One of the female plaintiffs in the complaint, identified only as “Contestant 5,” said in a statement: “I wanted to join because I was a fan of MrBeast and his videos made me smile during the COVID-19 pandemic. I expected to be challenged, but I didn’t think I would be treated like nothing - less than nothing. 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.”

Amazon have declined to comment on the situation, while representatives for MrBeast have also declined to comment. Donaldson, aged 26, has not posed on his X account since July. Also named in the papers is a production company, Off One's Base LLP, but they have been unable to be contacted.

As well as being the most popular YouTube creator, Donaldson is also in the top three accounts for followers on TikTok. He was named as a top creator by Forbes in 2023 and also one of the highest paid Youtube stars in 2022. In 2023, Time also named him as one of the world's 100 most influential people. Then, In July this year, he gained the most subscribers of any YouTuber through the first half of 2024. He is thought to have a net worth of $500millon (around £380million).

In response to several public relations crises, including grooming claims against his co-host Ava Kris Tyson, Donaldson recently ordered a full assessment of his YouTube empire’s internal culture and outlined plans to require company-wide sensitivity training. A release date for The Beast Games on Prime Video had not yet been announced and it’s unclear if the show will now still be aired.