MrBeast, Amazon Sued by Contestants on 'Beast Games' Competition Show

A class-action lawsuit against YouTube star MrBeast and Amazon has been filed on behalf of five unnamed contestants in the “ Beast Games ” reality competition show alleging they were subjected to “chronic mistreatment,” sexual harassment and more.

The complaint was filed Monday (Sept. 16) in Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges multiple causes of action related to the chronic mistreatment of and neglect suffered by participants in “Beast Games,” a reality competition ordered by Prime Video in which more than 1,000 participants compete for a single $5 million cash prize. The suit claims “Beast Games” has a $100 million budget. A redacted copy of the complaint is available at this link .

The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of all affected “Beast Games” contestants. The suit demands that Amazon and MrBeast’s company pay alleged unpaid wages and expenses and that the defendants be ordered to pay unspecified punitive monetary damages.

Representatives for MrBeast (whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson) and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Amazon, MrBeast’s production company and independent production firm Off One’s Base LLC — among other things — failed to pay minimum wages and overtime; failed to prevent sexual harassment; created conditions that subjected contestants to “infliction of emotional distress”; did not provide participants uninterrupted meal breaks or rest breaks; and exposed contestants to “dangerous circumstances and conditions as a condition of their employment.”

“While participants knew upon signing the contract at the production’s inception that they were facing a potentially long and challenging competition, they allege getting a lot more than they bargained for,” the lawsuit states. “Several contestants ending up hospitalized, while others reported suffering physical and mental complications while being subjected to chronic mistreatment, degradation and, for the female contestants, hostile working conditions.”

According to the lawsuit, “Beast Games” participants were deprived of medical care, food, sleep and the necessities of basic hygiene. Portions of the lawsuit are redacted, including some of the details involving the sexual harassment allegations; the plaintiffs’ lawyers said that is an effort to comply with defendants’ confidentiality provisions as well as to protect their own privacy interests. The complaint seeks to “establish a pattern of sexual harassment”; for example, it cites instructions from an alleged “How to Succeed in MrBeast Production” employee handbook that includes this: “If talent wants to draw a dick on the white board in the video or do something stupid, let them… Really do everything you can to empower the boys when filming and help them make content. Help them be idiots.”

One of the female plaintiffs in the complaint, identified only as “Contestant 5,” said in a statement: “I wanted to join because I was a fan of MrBeast and his videos made me smile during the COVID-19 pandemic. I expected to be challenged, but I didn’t think I would be treated like nothing — less than nothing. And as one of the women, I can say it absolutely felt like a hostile environment for us. We honestly could not have been respected less — as people, much less employees — if they tried.”

“As extreme as the allegations against defendants are here, the law could not be more clear,” said Robert Pafundi of Pafundi Law Firm, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “Participants entered into contracts and they were promised compensation for their services. Their expectation of compensation, along with them being consistently under the control and supervision of the production staff, makes them employees under California law. As such, they were entitled to, and denied, certain protections. And when you add to that the extreme neglect, degradation, harassment and inhumane conditions – it’s quite simply a massive dereliction of duty, for which the defendants must and will now be held accountable.”

A release date for “Beast Games” has not yet been announced.