Lawsuit on behalf of five unnamed participants seeks class-action status
A legal case has been brought against YouTube sensation MrBeast and Amazon by five contestants from the “Beast Games” reality show. They claim they experienced ongoing mistreatment, sexual harassment, and other serious issues during the competition.
A complaint was submitted on Monday, September 16, in the Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit claims that there were several issues regarding the ongoing mistreatment and neglect of the contestants in “Beast Games,” a reality competition created by Prime Video where over 1,000 people compete for a grand prize of $5 million. The lawsuit also states that “Beast Games” has a budget of $100 million. A redacted copy of the complaint is available at this link.
The lawsuit is asking to be recognized as a class action for everyone who participated in “Beast Games.” It claims that Amazon and MrBeast’s company owe money for unpaid wages and expenses, and it wants the court to make the defendants pay extra money as punishment.
When contacted by Variety, both Amazon and MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, chose not to provide any comments.
The lawsuit claims that Amazon, MrBeast’s MRB2024 production company, and the independent firm Off One’s Base LLC did not pay their workers the minimum wage or overtime. They also allegedly failed to stop sexual harassment, created situations that caused emotional distress for contestants, and didn’t give participants proper meal or rest breaks. Additionally, the lawsuit states that contestants were put in dangerous situations as part of their job. The first round of the show took place from July 18-22 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where over 2,000 people participated. Out of those, 1,000 contestants advanced to the next round, which was filmed in Toronto in August.
The lawyers representing the unnamed contestants of “Beast Games” stated, “When the participants signed the contract at the beginning of the production, they understood that the competition could be tough and lengthy. However, they claim that the experience was much worse than they expected. Some contestants ended up in the hospital, and many others faced serious physical and mental issues due to ongoing mistreatment, humiliation, and, for the women, very difficult working conditions.”
The lawsuit claims that people involved in “Beast Games” were not given proper medical care, food, sleep, or even basic hygiene supplies. Some parts of the lawsuit are hidden from view, especially details about the sexual harassment claims. The lawsuit explains that the people filing it are using fake names and have made careful edits to keep some information private. They did this to follow the strict confidentiality rules set by the Defendants, which the Plaintiffs believe are not valid, and to protect the privacy of those who want to stay out of the spotlight.
The lawsuit aims to show a repeated issue of sexual harassment, as stated by the lawyers for the five people involved. One part of the complaint mentions a supposed employee handbook from “How to Succeed in MrBeast Production,” which says things like, “If someone wants to draw something silly on the whiteboard during filming or act goofy, just let them… Make sure to support the guys while they’re filming and help them create content. Encourage their silly behavior.”
One of the women who filed the complaint, known as “Contestant 5,” shared her thoughts: “I decided to participate because I really liked MrBeast, and his videos brought me joy during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was ready for some tough challenges, but I never imagined I would be treated so poorly — like I didn’t matter at all. As one of the female contestants, I can honestly say it felt really unfriendly for us. We couldn’t have been shown less respect — both as individuals and as workers — if they had tried.”
The lawsuit claims that the producers of “Beast Games” made the work environment unsafe for the workers. They didn’t give enough food or drinks, there weren’t enough medical staff available, and the medical care was not good. Workers were also made to stay awake and were pressured to take part in games that could seriously hurt them both physically and mentally.
Robert Pafundi from Pafundi Law Firm, who is the main lawyer for the people suing, stated, “Even though the claims against the defendants are very serious, the law is very clear. The people involved made agreements and were promised payment for their work. Because they expected to be paid and were always under the control of the production team, they should be considered employees according to California law. This means they had rights that were denied to them. Plus, when you think about the terrible neglect, mistreatment, harassment, and awful conditions they faced, it shows a huge failure to do their job, and the defendants need to be held responsible for that.”
There hasn’t been a release date revealed for “Beast Games” on Prime Video yet. Amazon is promoting it as “the world’s largest live gameshow” and claims it has “the biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming.”
Donaldson, who is 26 years old, is the most popular YouTuber globally, boasting an impressive 316 million subscribers on his main channel, more than any other individual creator. Known as MrBeast, he has built a huge following with his wild stunts and generous cash giveaways. His most-watched video so far is a 2021 remake of “Squid Game,” where he recreated the elimination challenges from the famous Netflix series and gave the winner a whopping $456,000.