Why are MrBeast and Amazon being sued by game show contestants?

MrBeast, the face of YouTube’s most-subscribed channel, is facing a lawsuit alleging unsafe working conditions, sexual harassment, and misrepresentation of contestants’ odds in his new $5 million Amazon reality show.

The filing alleges that the multimillion-dollar company behind the popular YouTuber (Jimmy Donaldson) failed to provide minimum wages, overtime pay, uninterrupted meal breaks and rest time for competitors – whose “work on the show was the entertainment product” sold by MrBeast.

The show, “Beast Games,” promoted as the “the world’s largest live gameshow” aimed to extend MrBeast’s reach beyond YouTube, where he has 316 million subscribers at the time of writing.

He is known for his high-production videos which feature elaborate challenges, experiments, and lavish prizes for participants, such as his $456,000 Squid Game In Real Life video, which has amassed over 650 million views.

The initial shoot for “Beast Games” in Las Vegas drew criticism before it even wrapped. The lawsuit claims that contestants were misled about the number of competitors, reducing their chances of winning, which violated California’s business laws against false advertising in sweepstakes.

The filing also alleges that production staff created a “toxic” work environment for women who faced “sexual harassment” throughout the contest.

“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,” one of the female plaintiffs in the complaint said in a statement.

No release date has yet been announced for “Beast Games”, which will stream on Prime Video.