MrBeast is accused of creating âunsafeâ employment conditions, including sexual harassment, and misrepresenting contestants’ odds at winning his new Amazon reality show’s $5 million grand prize in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by five unnamed participants.
The filing alleges that the multi-million-dollar company behind YouTube’s most popular channel failed to provide minimum wages, overtime pay, uninterrupted meal breaks and rest time for competitors â whose âwork on the show was the entertainment productâ sold by MrBeast.
A spokesperson for MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, told The Associated Press in an email that he had no comment on the new lawsuit.
Donaldsonâs âBeast Gamesâ was touted as the âbiggest reality competition.” It was supposed to put the North Carolina content creator in front of audiences beyond the YouTube platform where his record 316 million subscribers routinely watch his whimsical challenges that often carry lavish gifts of direct cash.
But its initial Las Vegas shoot began facing criticism before it even wrapped. Donaldsonâs companies cast 2,000 people in an initial tryout this July where half could advance to the actual show’s filming in Toronto.
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Contestants only learned upon their arrival that the Las Vegas pool surpassed 1,000 competitors, according to the lawsuit, significantly reducing their chances of victory. The lawsuit argues the âfalse advertisingâ violated California business laws that prohibit sweepstakes operators from âmisrepresenting in any manner the odds of winning any prize.”
The five anonymous competitors also said that âlimited sustenance” and âinsufficient medical staffingâ endangered their health.
The filing alleges that production staff created a âtoxicâ work environment for women who faced âsexual harassmentâ throughout the contest. Those sections are heavily redacted in an effort to comply with âconfidentiality provisionsâ signed by the competitors, according to a press release from their lawyers.
The lawsuit adds to the complaints â circulated by online influencers in the shoot’s immediate aftermath â that an unorganized set had left some contestants injured and lacking in regular access to food and medication. Other participants have told AP they received two light meals each day and MrBeast branded chocolate bars.
MrBeastâs team also faces new accusations they âknowingly misclassifiedâ the contestantsâ employment status to the Nevada Film Commission in order to receive a state tax credit for more than $2 million.
Among other forms of relief, the five competitors seek an order that MrBeast institute âworkplace reformsâ and awards âall wages owed.”
Last month, amid several public relations crises, Donaldson ordered a full assessment of his YouTube empire’s internal culture and outlined plans to require company-wide sensitivity training.
No more details have been divulged and no date has been publicized for the reality game show’s release.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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