YouTube megastar MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) is facing more controversy after five unnamed contestants on his upcoming Amazon reality show Beast Games have filed a class-action lawsuit against him, claiming workplace violations, “chronic mistreatment” and sexual harassment.

Filed in an LA Superior Court on September 16, the suit claims that MrBeast’s MRB2024 production company and Amazon failed to pay minimum wages and overtime; failed to prevent sexual harassment; subjected contestants to “infliction of emotional distress”; did not provide meal breaks, rest breaks or access to basic hygiene; and exposed contestants to “dangerous circumstances and conditions as a condition of their employment.”

Budgeted at a reported US$100 million, Beast Games features more than 1,000 participants competing for a US$5-million cash prize—the biggest in television and streaming history. The series started with 2,000 contestants when the production shot in Las Vegas this July, but only 1,000 survived to the next round, which was filmed in Toronto last month. An airdate has not yet been announced.   

“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,” lawyers representing the plaintiffs said in a statement.

“Several contestants [ended] 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 plaintiff said she only joined Beast Games because she was a MrBeast fan, but felt she was treated like “less than nothing” on the show.

“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,” she said.

Accusations by participants of unsafe filming conditions and lack of food and medical care on the Las Vegas production first surfaced last month in a report by The New York Times. 

Donaldson/MrBeast, who has more than 300 million YouTube followers, has faced a string of recent controversies, beginning in May when his longtime collaborator Ava Kris Tyson was accused of “grooming” minors. Donaldson said in a statement that he’s “disgusted” and “opposed to such unacceptable acts.” Tyson denied the allegations, but recently stepped away from her role with MrBeast to focus on family and her mental health.

Following Tyson’s departure, The Associated Press obtained a memo in August revealing that Donaldson is investigating the internal culture of his YouTube empire, with plans to hire a chief human resources officer and demand company-wide sensitivity training.