NEW YORK — MrBeast is accused of fostering “unsafe” employment conditions, including sexual harassment, and misrepresenting players’ chances of winning the $5 million grand prize on his new Amazon reality show, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by five anonymous participants.
The lawsuit claims that the multimillion-dollar firm behind YouTube’s most popular channel neglected to provide minimum wages, overtime compensation, uninterrupted lunch breaks, and rest time for rivals whose “work on the show was the entertainment product” provided by MrBeast.
MrBeast And Amazon Sued By Competitors From His $5M Reality Show Over Alleged ‘Unsafe’ Conditions
A representative for MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, told The Associated Press in an email that he had no comment on the latest complaint.
Donaldson’s “Beast Games” was dubbed the “biggest reality competition.” It was designed to put the North Carolina content producer in front of viewers outside of YouTube, where his record 316 million subscribers regularly watch his quirky challenges, which frequently include huge financial awards.
However, its inaugural Las Vegas shoot drew criticism before it had finished. Donaldson’s firms recruited 2,000 people in an initial tryout in July, with half of them going on to film the actual show in Toronto.
According to the lawsuit, contestants were unaware until they arrived that the Las Vegas pool had topped 1,000 entrants, severely lowering their odds of success. The lawsuit claims that the “false advertising” violates California business regulations, preventing sweepstake operators from “misrepresenting in any manner the odds of winning any prize.”
The five unnamed contestants also claimed that “limited sustenance” and “insufficient medical staffing” jeopardized their health.
The complaint claims that production workers produced a “toxic” work environment for women who were subjected to “sexual harassment” throughout the contest. According to a press release from the competitors’ lawyers, certain passages are significantly censored to comply with the “confidentiality provisions” they signed.
The lawsuit adds to the concerns, made by internet influencers in the aftermath of the shoot, that an unorganized set left some candidates injured and without frequent access to food and medication. Other volunteers told AP that they were given two light meals per day and MrBeast-branded chocolate bars.
MrBeast’s team is also facing new allegations that they “knowingly misclassified” the participants’ employment status to the Nevada Film Commission to obtain a state tax credit worth more than $2 million.
MrBeast And Amazon Sued By Competitors From His $5M Reality Show Over Alleged ‘Unsafe’ Conditions
The five competitors seek an order that MrBeast implement “workplace reforms” and pay “all wages owed,” among other remedies.
Last month, amid several public relations disasters, Donaldson ordered a comprehensive review of his YouTube empire’s internal culture and announced plans to mandate company-wide sensitivity training.
SOURCE | AP
