Jimmy Donaldson is no stranger to controversy. At just 26 years old, the YouTube star known worldwide as MrBeast has already endured his share of controversial publicity and public backlash for his spectacular social media stunts, as well as accusations that he fosters a toxic work environment for his employees.
During that time, Donaldson has steadily grown his brand and media empire, to the point that he is the most subscribed YouTube channel of all time and has a net worth estimated at around $700 million. Unlike comparable superstars whose fame and fortune are built on record and film deals, MrBeast’s fame is based almost entirely on simply being MrBeast. He is the definition of self-referential fame in the age of social media.
This week, five unnamed contestants competing for the promised $5 million prize in Donaldson’s upcoming reality competition “Beast Games” filed a class action lawsuit against both Donaldson’s production company and Amazon, which will stream the series worldwide on its Prime Video platform. In the suit, the plaintiffs claim they were provided with “sporadic and sparse meals,” were not given “adequate access to hygiene products or medical care,” and that “female contestants specifically and collectively” suffered from a work environment that “systematically fostered a culture of misogyny and sexism while production staff did nothing to address it.”
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What does this mean for YouTube’s rising star and his dreams of cross-platform dominance?
What allegations are there against the show?
Although the full complaint has not yet been made public, Variety obtained a heavily redacted version that alleges that Beast Games “failed to pay minimum wage or overtime, failed to prevent sexual harassment, created conditions that subjected contestants to ’emotional distress,’ failed to provide participants with uninterrupted meal or rest breaks, and subjected contestants to ‘dangerous circumstances and conditions as a condition of their employment.'” Crucially, the complaint alleges that “the contestants were treated as employees and are entitled to compensation for their services and for numerous alleged labor violations they faced,” according to Time.
More broadly, the suit claims Donaldson misrepresented the number of contestants who would be on the show, thereby “deceiving them about their chances of winning the $5 million prize despite putting their lives on hold for filming,” according to the Washington Post. The plaintiffs’ lawyers also claim that defendant Donaldson and the other defendants “falsely classified contestants as volunteers in order to receive tax credits” from Nevada, according to CNN, which led to “$2.5 million in incentives from the state to film in Las Vegas.”
The lawsuit, filed this week in Los Angeles, comes just over a month after The New York Times published a detailed exposé of similar allegations related to the show. “We signed up for the show,” one contestant told the Times, “but we didn’t sign up to not be fed or watered or treated like human beings.”
“It’s a Fyre Fest feel,” a former crew member told Rolling Stone, referring to the infamously disastrous luxury music festival. “There’s a reason this level of production has never been attempted before, and it certainly should never have been attempted without people who know what they’re doing.”
So far, neither Donaldson nor Amazon have responded to requests for comment from Variety, Time, CNN or the Washington Post.
What does this mean for MrBeast himself?
Donaldson has “faced backlash in the past,” Yahoo Entertainment said, but the allegations made in this week’s lawsuit are “the most serious he has ever faced” and “an indication that the facade of his empire is beginning to crumble.” Even before the lawsuit was filed, the allegations surrounding the show were a sign that MrBeast’s “reputation and his multimillion-dollar YouTube empire are at stake,” according to the New York Times.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs have sought unspecified monetary damages “likely to be in the millions of dollars” to be decided in a jury trial, the group’s lawyers said in a statement to Time. However, the publication said, “it is unlikely that the lawsuit will go to trial because class action lawsuits are typically settled before trial.”
Given all the hype surrounding the show itself, “you would think that MrBeast and Amazon would be on their best behavior when it comes to these allegations,” according to Deadline. After the New York Times’ revelation last month, “you would think that MrBeast and Amazon would be ready with some sort of response. Unfortunately, no.”
