A class-action lawsuit against YouTube star MrBeast and Amazon has been filed on behalf of five unnamed contestants in the “Beast Games” reality competition show alleging they were subjected to a “chronic mistreatment,” sexual harassment and more.
The complaint was filed Monday (Sept. 16) in Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit details multiple causes of action related to the chronic mistreatment of and neglect suffered by participants in “Beast Games,” a reality competition ordered by Prime Video in which more than 1,000 participants compete for a single $5 million cash prize. A copy of the complaint is available at this link.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of all affected “Beast Games” contestants. The suit demands that Amazon and MrBeast’s company pay alleged wages and expenses owed, as well as unspecific punitive monetary damages.
Representatives for MrBeast and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the lawsuit, MrBeast, Amazon and the show’s affiliated production company among other things failed to pay minimum wages and overtime; that the production failed to prevent sexual harassment; that contestants were subject to infliction of emotional distress; that participates were not provided uninterrupted meal breaks or rest breaks.
“While participants knew upon signing the contract at the production’s inception that they were facing a potentially long and challenging competition, they allege getting a lot more than they bargained for,” the lawsuit states. “Several contestants ending up hospitalized, while others reported suffering physical and mental complications while being subjected to chronic mistreatment, degradation and, for the female contestants, hostile working conditions.”
One of the female plaintiffs in the complaint, identified only as “Contestant 5,” said in a statement: “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.”
“As extreme as the allegations against defendants are here, the law could not be more clear,” said Robert Pafundi of Pafundi Law Firm, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “Participants entered into contracts and they were promised compensation for their services. Their expectation of compensation, along with them being consistently under the control and supervision of the production staff, makes them employees under California law. As such, they were entitled to, and denied, certain protections. And when you add to that the extreme neglect, degradation, harassment and inhumane conditions – it’s quite simply a massive dereliction of duty, for which the defendants must and will now be held accountable.”
A release date for “Beast Games” has not yet been announced.
From Variety US