- Class action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles by five unnamed contestants on Beast Games
- They allege ‘chronic mistreatment’ on the show, among other things
- Beast Games, with a $5 million prize, has yet to be given a release date
YouTube star MrBeast and Amazon have had a lawsuit filed against them by five contestants on the Beast Games reality show.
Chronic mistreatment allegations
The complaint was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on September 16. The lawsuit alleges the complainants were subject to chronic mistreatment and neglect during their participation on the show.
Beast Games is a show commissioned by Amazon Prime. It featured more than 1000 contestants competing for a $5 million prize. The big budget show – said to be $100 million – has yet to receive a release date on the streaming service.
The lawsuit is seeking unpaid wages and expenses as well as unspecified punitive damages, according to Variety.
It alleges that participants were deprived of medical care, food, sleep and what was needed for basic hygiene. Further allegations include that conditions were created that caused emotional distress, as well as exposing them to dangerous circumstances and conditions as a condition of their employment, and there was a failure to prevent sexual harassment.
Variety quoted the attorneys for the contestants, which said that while the participants knew when they signed a contract at the start of production they were facing a long and potentially challenging competition, they allege they got a lot more than they bargained for.
Thus far neither Amazon nor MrBeast have responded publicly to the news.
Controversies
MrBeast – real name Jimmy Donaldson – became the biggest YouTuber in the world by number of subscribers to his channels earlier in the year. However, his brand has been rocked by recent controversies, including one that saw one of his team permanently step back from the brand.
