‘The year of the downfall of MrBeast’: After a year of winging it alone, MrBeast joined by Amazon as the duo hit with major lawsuit for sexual harassment and wage theft

2024 really isn’t MrBeast’s year at all. Back in 2023, the YouTube star had a pretty clean public image, known to most for his interesting and engaging content while also being a pretty charitable dude, even if some did criticize him for clout chasing.

But things haven’t been going so well for Jimmy Donaldson, AKA MrBeast as of late, with the Ava Kris Tyson controversy earlier this year, and now the YouTuber has a class action lawsuit to deal with as well. Back in March, it was announced that MrBeast would be partnering with Amazon to bring his very own reality competition show to the streaming platform, but things have gone a little sideways with contestants supposedly being mistreated.

The Beast Games would see 1,000 people battle it out for a prize of $5 million and fans were pretty eager to sign up when it was announced. While Donaldson has already dabbled in a similar concept on his YouTube channel with videos like the real-life Squid Game, this would be his first time diving into a more traditional game show format.

The controversy, explained

However, the leap from YouTube to streaming isn’t as simple as you’d think as Donaldson and Amazon would soon discover. Poor communication and a general lack of care for those taking part has led to a group of contestants filing a class action lawsuit against MrBeast and the streaming giant, citing a list of oversights.

The complaint was filed by five competitors “on behalf of all others similarly situated.” A copy of the complaint can be read here. The list of grievances against MrBeast and Amazon include failure to pay minimum wages or overtime, failure to prevent sexual harassment on set, failure to provide meal and rest breaks, false advertising and more. Basically, those who were unlucky enough to take part were treated pretty terribly during their time on the show.

Going into more depth on the allegations, Amazon and MrBeast supposedly did all they could to avoid paying contestants minimum wage or having to implement any employment protections or provide the bare minimum working conditions required under California state law. The show had a budget of $100 million, yet producers still felt the need to avoid paying contestants. The Beast Games also allegedly “fostered a culture of misogyny and sexism where production staff did nothing” with women being forced to endure “severe embarrassment” and unfair disadvantages. 

The response on the internet has not been particularly favorable towards MrBeast.

2024 really has been the year of the downfall of Mr. Beast.

— RJ (@ResonantJustice) September 18, 2024

Perhaps MrBeast should stick to YouTube.

it doesn’t seem like they took any precautions for this 😭 stick to youtube lil bro

— SETHY 🪐 (@sethspov) September 18, 2024

Of course, being a mega-corporation like Amazon, you’d think the company would have some sort of shady clause written into the terms of service that would allow them to wiggle their way out of this just like Disney tried doing last month.

Did they sign up for Amazon prime before participating?

— 𝕏𝔸ℕ𝕄𝔸ℕ (@XANMANREBRAND) September 18, 2024

This latest controversy is the second time the YouTuber has made headlines this year with his co-host, Ava Kris Tyson being accused of grooming a 13-year-old boy as well as other inappropriate behavior back in July. Supposedly, Donaldson knew about Tyson’s behavior but ignored it. Jimmy and Ava parted ways due to the controversy, but it still had a negative effect on the public perception of MrBeast.

Could this really be the year we see MrBeast fall off? It’s unlikely, although there’s no doubt that the public perception of Jimmy Donaldson has changed when compared to how people viewed him last year. Hopefully he’s learned a valuable lesson.