MrBeast named in California lawsuit over Beast Games show
YOUTUBER MrBeast has been named in a lawsuit claiming participants in his US$5 million jackpot game show were exploited.
Contestants say they were subjected to unfair treatment and sexual harassment while participating in what has been billed as the world’s biggest live game show.
Papers filed in a Los Angeles court on Monday (Sep 16) allege that contestants were not paid proper wages, and were not given meal breaks or appropriate rest.
The plaintiffs are identified only as contestants 1-5 in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed against Amazon Alternative and Jimmy Donaldson’s (MrBeast’s) production company, MRB2024.
The suit seeks payment of all wages owed, an injunction forbidding the labour actions alleged and certification of the suit as a class action complaint.
“Defendant production companies and Amazon shamelessly exploited the labour of... people who served as contestants on the forthcoming US$100 million MrBeast-Amazon production Beast Games, which Amazon promotes as the world’s largest live game show with the biggest single prize in the history of television,” the suit states.
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The entertainment value of the show “arises directly from the physical and emotional labour of the contestants who compete under pressure-cooker conditions for life-changing prize money, with one person purportedly to win US$5 million in the end”, the suit alleges.
There was no immediate response from MrBeast or Amazon to AFP requests for comment.
MrBeast is one of the most successful YouTubers of all time, with more than 300 million subscribers.
His output includes contests and challenges with sometimes high-value prizes for participants.
As well as an extensive online presence, he has also founded philanthropic ventures.
In 2023, Time magazine named him one of the world’s most influential people.
In the same year, Forbes put his net worth at around US$500 million. AFP
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