World's 'Most-popular' YouTuber MrBeast and Amazon Sued For Alleged Harassment Of Contestants On His Reality Show

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against YouTube star MrBeast accusing him of "shamelessly exploiting" contestants in his upcoming series Beast Games. The production companies involved in the show, which include MrB2024 and Amazon, have also been named in the complaint, filed on September 16, 2024, in Los Angeles Superior Court.The series offered 1,000 participants the chance to win a cash prize of $5m (£3.5m) and promised to be the biggest live game show in the world. But in their complaint, participants allege they experienced "chronic mistreatment", sexual harassment, and were subjected to unsafe conditions during the production of the reality competition show.Doocuments submitted to the court say MrB2024 is "believed to be owned in whole or part, directly or indirectly", by MrBeast - real name Jimmy Donaldson - who is the biggest YouTuber in the world with more than 300m subscribers, according to BBC.The case has been filed by five anonymous contestants on behalf of everyone who took part in the show.They claim the production company kept them under surveillance, controlled when they slept, and denied them privacy and access to the outside world.The plaintiffs allege they were "underfed and overtired" with meals provided "sporadically and sparsely" which endangered their health.The 54-page document also details allegations of an unsafe environment with insufficient background checks allowing convicted criminals to participate.'Culture of misogyny'The contestants have alleged propmotion of "a culture of misogyny and sexism", creating a "hostile environment" for women which included sexual harassment."This was not only noticed but allowed," the document says. "And apparently this was allowed because of marching orders from the top."The contestants' lawyers have sought thousands of dollars in compensation for the participants, arguing that they were "not working for free" and should have been classed as employees.Two of the listed claimants who are women are also seeking further compensation for the allegations of a hostile workplace.Amazon have declined to comment, while representatives for MrBeast have not yet responded to Newsbeat's request, BBC reported.