James “MrBeast” Donaldson’s new Squid Game-style reality TV show hits Amazon Prime Video on December 19 and, despite reports of terrible working conditions during filming, the YouTuber says behind-the-scenes footage will show the allegations surrounding the production were “overblown.”
A teaser for Donaldson’s Beast Games showed set pieces involving pirate ships, monster trucks, and helicopters, all hallmarks reminiscent of the expensive YouTube video stunts that made him an online star to begin with. “Here’s a little teaser for Beast Games!” he tweeted on November 25. “I spent over a year creating this 10 episode competition series, breaking 40 world records, building the craziest sets in entertainment history, featuring 1,000 players, and a $5,000,000 grand prize!”
But the show’s also been dogged by accusations of unsafe working conditions and Fyre-Festival-like chaos and corner-cutting following investigations by The New York Times and Rolling Stone. Five anonymous contestants from the show filed a lawsuit against Donaldson and Amazon in September alleging they were not provided with adequate food, sleep, or medical attention, nor facilities to maintain proper hygiene.
“I wanted to join because I was a fan of MrBeast and his videos made me smile during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said one unnamed woman who was a contestant on the show and is a party to the suit. “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.”
Asked about the complaints on X (formerly Twitter), Donaldson used the controversy to hype the streaming show’s upcoming premiere. “We have tons of behind the scenes dropping when the show does to show how blown out of proportion these claims were,” he wrote. “Just can’t release it now because it would spoil the games.” He’s also likely been advised not to comment on pending litigation against him and his company, MrBeast Productions.
The YouTuber’s burgeoning empire has been cracking under heightened scrutiny in recent months, including past offensive comments of his resurfacing online and accusations of a poor workplace culture. A recent third-party investigation found “isolated” incidents of workplace misconduct but no systemic evidence of sexual harassment or other serious issues. Even Donaldson’s snacks for kids, Lunchly, were recently criticized for containing moldy cheese.
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