MrBeast and Amazon Named in Lawsuit Over Show

YouTuber MrBeast has been named in court documents alleging that contestants were “shamelessly exploited” on his upcoming series Beast Games.

Participants in the show have filed lawsuits against the production companies involved in the show, including MrB2024 and Amazon.

The series, which was first announced in March, offered 1,000 participants the chance to win a $5m (£3.5m) cash prize, and promised to be the world’s biggest live game show.

But in a lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles court on Monday, participants alleged they were not paid, subjected to unsafe conditions and sexually harassed.

The documents say the MrB2024 channel is “wholly or partially owned, directly or indirectly,” by MrBeast — whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson — who is the world’s most popular YouTuber with more than 300 million subscribers.

BBC Newsbeat has contacted MrBeast and Amazon for comment.

In legal papers, parts of which have been redacted, five anonymous contestants filed lawsuits on behalf of all those who participated.

They alleged that the production team kept them under surveillance, controlled their sleeping times, what they wore, and denied them privacy and access to the outside world.

The report alleged that they were “suffering from malnutrition and extreme exhaustion”, and that meals were provided to them “intermittently and sporadically”, which “put the health and well-being” of the contestants at risk.

The 54-page document also includes allegations of an unsafe environment with contestants being held in small areas and dangerous groups and inadequate background checks to allow convicted felons to participate.

She alleged that some of them suffered physical injuries and did not receive adequate medical care.

The group was also said to have “fostered a culture of misogyny and sexism”, creating a “hostile environment” for women that included sexual harassment.

“This was not only observed, but also permitted,” the document states. “It was clearly permitted because of orders coming from the top.”

Lawyers for the contestants say they should be compensated for their time, which they say was “essential work” for the production, and argue they “were not working for free” and should have been classified as employees.

All claimants are seeking thousands of dollars for each person who contributed to covering the “unpaid wages.”

Two of the listed claimants, both women, are also seeking additional damages for allegations of a hostile workplace.

Earlier this year, MrBeast He announced that he had hired private investigators to investigate allegations that one of his co-hosts had solicited a minor..

Ava Kris Tyson has been accused by other YouTubers of sending inappropriate messages to a minor when she was 20 years old. She has denied the harassment allegations.

Mr. Best removed it from the channel and said he “does not support or endorse any of this inappropriate behavior.”

Representatives for MrBeast and Amazon did not respond to a request for comment from Newsbeat. A production company called Off One’s Base LLP is also mentioned in the documents, which BBC Newsbeat was unable to contact.

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