Yahoo News Here's What's Going On With That Class-Action Lawsuit Against MrBeast And Amazon
MrBeast and Amazon are facing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of five unnamed contestants in the Beast Games reality competition show.
YouTube star MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson), with more than 316 million subscribers, partnered with Amazon to host what was set to be the largest reality show in history, with over 1,000 contestants and a $5-million prize.
On Sept. 16, a complaint was filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court alleging the contestants were subjected to "chronic mistreatment," sexual harassment, emotional distress, and more. Everything is included in this redacted copy of the complaint.
In the redacted complaint, it's mentioned that female contestants allegedly suffered from a fostered culture and pattern of misogyny and sexism.
Additionally, the class-action lawsuit on behalf of all the contestants demands they be compensated for allegedly unpaid wages, expenses, and monetary damages during their time on the show.
According to the lawsuit, MrBeast publicly stated that all contestants were to get paid if they competed for "just five minutes" because money was "not a constraint," and Amazon gave him complete creative control.
The lawsuit alleges that MrBeast's production company, Off One's Base LLC, failed to pay overtime and minimum wages, didn't provide the contestants with uninterrupted meal breaks and rest breaks, didn't provide workers compensation benefits, and exposed them to "dangerous circumstances and conditions as a condition of their employment."
The lawsuit claims that they were not given adequate access to hygienic products or medical care even if they suffered injuries from physical challenges. Contestants allegedly ended up hospitalized, while others reported suffering physical and mental complications while being subjected to chronic mistreatment and degradation. As for the female contestants, the lawsuit claims they also suffered hostile working conditions and sexual harassment.
While many elements of the complaint are redacted, it claims "the Beast Games Production was so void of standards of reasonable care that MrBeast® allegedly offered to cover the contestants' therapy."
According to Variety, one of the female plaintiffs, identified in the complaint as "Contestant 5," said, "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."
Although Amazon has claimed it will be "the world's largest live gameshow," Beast Games has yet to receive a release date.
BuzzFeed has reached out to reps for MrBeast and Amazon for comments.
