Mr. Beast is accused of creating “unsafe” working conditions, including sexual harassment and skewing contestants’ chances of winning the $5 million grand prize on his new Amazon reality show, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by five unnamed participants.
The lawsuit alleges that the multi-million dollar company behind YouTube’s most popular channel failed to provide minimum wage, overtime pay, uninterrupted meal breaks and rest time to competitors — whose “business on the show was the entertainment product” that Mr. Best sold.
A spokesman for Mr. Beast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, told The Associated Press in an email that he had no comment on the new lawsuit.
Donaldson’s Beast Games were billed as “the biggest reality competition.” They were meant to put the North Carolina content creator in front of an audience beyond YouTube, where his 316 million subscribers routinely watch his challenges, which often come with generous cash giveaways.
But its initial filming took place in Las Vegas. I started facing criticism. Before the series even finished filming, Donaldson’s companies selected 2,000 people in an initial audition last July, half of whom could advance to the actual shooting of the series in Toronto.
The contestants only learned upon arrival that the Las Vegas pool had more than 1,000 entrants, according to the lawsuit, significantly reducing their chances of winning. The lawsuit alleges that the “false advertising” violates California business laws that prohibit lottery operators from “in any way misrepresenting the odds of winning any prize.”
The five anonymous contestants also said that “limited food” and “insufficient medical staff” were putting their health at risk.
The lawsuit alleges that the production crew created a “toxic” work environment for the women, who faced “sexual harassment” throughout the competition. Those sections were heavily edited in an attempt to comply with “confidentiality provisions” signed by the contestants, according to a press release from their attorneys.
The lawsuit adds to complaints — circulated online by influencers in the immediate aftermath of the shoot — that the unregulated filming led to injuries to some contestants and a lack of regular access to food and medicine. Other participants told the Associated Press they were given two snacks each day and MrBeast-branded chocolate bars.
The MrBeast team is also facing new allegations that they “intentionally classified” contestants’ employment status with the Nevada Film Commission in order to receive a state tax credit of more than $2 million.
Among other relief, the five challengers are seeking an order requiring Mr. Best to make “workplace reforms” and award “all wages owed.”
Last month, amid several public relations crises, Donaldson ordered a full assessment of the internal culture of his YouTube empire, and laid out plans to require company-wide sensitivity training.
No further details have been revealed and no release date has been announced for the reality game show.
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