YouTuber MrBeast, Amazon sued by reality show contestants alleging abuse, harassment

This story was updated to add a video.

Popular YouTube star MrBeast is being sued by contestants from his reality competition show “Beast Games,” alleging that production of the show was rife with workplace abuses included denial of pay, unsafe conditions, and “a culture of misogyny and sexism.”

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles on Monday, also names Amazon and a production company owned by MrBeast, whose real name is James Donaldson.

Production of the show, “Beast Games,” was announced in March, with MrBeast and Amazon touting it as “the largest game show in history” featuring over 1,000 contestants competing for $5 million in prize money.

'Unreasonable, unsafe, and unlawful'

The 54-page legal filing details the “unreasonable, unsafe, and unlawful” conditions that the contestants claim they were subjected to while participating in the show.

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According to the lawsuit, contestants were at various times deprived of food, sleep, and often times proper medical care. The lawsuit also claims multiple contestants suffered physical injuries or were hospitalized while filming the show. In addition to being fed “sporadically and sparsely,” and being denied “reasonable medical care,” the plaintiffs also claim that conditions were so bad during the filming of the show that the production company eventually offered to pay for contestants’ therapy sessions.

While the document is heavily redacted in many sections, the plaintiffs also claim that the production crew “fostered a culture and pattern and practice of sexual harassment.” The lawsuit alleges that women were subjected to “severe embarrassment.” Contestants were also not subject to background checks before appearing on the show, the lawsuit claims.

According to the lawsuit, a production handbook produced for the show stated, “It’s okay for the boys to be childish,” and “Really do everything you can to empower the boys when filming and help them make content. Help them be idiots.”

'Beast Games' misclassified contestants as 'volunteers', suit claims

With more than 316 million followers, MrBeast is behind the most-subscribed channel on YouTube. In July, Forbes estimated that Donaldson had made about $82 million from June 2022 to June 2023. Many of his videos can be classified as philanthropic, including one in which Donaldson paid for 1,000 cataract surgeries.

Like the “Beast Games” show, though, many of his videos have featured large-scale competitions and giveaways, such as a 2021 video that featured a real life “Squid Game” competition featuring 45 contestants competing for a $456,000 cash prize, and another in which 100 contestants attempted to stay in a circle for as long as possible, with $500,000 given to the last person remaining.

The lawsuit, however, alleges that “Beast Games” contestants were required to enter “illegal contracts” that misclassified them as volunteers in order for the show to qualify for tax breaks while filming in Las Vegas.

In August, a New York Times report detailed similar claims of the unsafe conditions faced by contestants in the show. A MrBeast spokesperson told the Times that production of the show “’was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather and other unexpected logistical and communications issues,’” and that the show was undergoing a formal review.

Neither Amazon nor Donaldson immediately responded to a request for comment.

“Beast Games” currently has no announced release date on Amazon Prime.

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com