MrBeast, Amazon sued for alleged ‘Beast Games’ reality show abuses
MrBeast and Amazon face a class-action lawsuit from “Beast Games” contestants alleging unpaid wages and mistreatment during filming.
Straight Arrow News
The first episode of MrBeast’s highly-anticipated game show, “Beast Games”, is now available for streaming on Prime Video.
YouTube creator James Donaldson, more popularly known as MrBeast, is the host of the new competition series that he claims has the largest cash prize in game show history. Per the show’s description, 1,000 contestants will fight through 10 episodes in physical and mental challenges for prizes include that $5 million, a private island and Lamborghinis. New episodes will premiere weekly through mid-February.
“Beast Games” has made headlines in recent months as several contestants have sued Donaldson and Amazon for workplace abuse, citing unsafe conditions, harassment and denial of necessities, like food and sleep.
Here’s what to know about “Beast Games.”
What happens in ‘Beast Games’?
Per the “Beast Games” description on Prime Video, the show begins with 1,000 contestants fighting for the final $5 million cash prize. Over the course of 10 episodes, the contestants are narrowed down through a variety of physical and mental challenges.
“Beast Games” is a combination of Netflix’s “Squid Game,” NBC’s defunct “Fear Factor” and CBS’ long-running series “Survivor.” By the second episode, also now available for streaming, the number of contestants narrows to 500.
How to watch ‘Beast Games’
“Beast Games” is only available for streaming on Prime Video. The first two episodes released Thursday and a new episode will be released every Thursday at noon EST through Feb. 13.
The series features 10 episodes, and each episode hovers around 40 minutes long.
Do you need an Amazon Prime subscription to watch ‘Beast Games’?
Yes, viewers must have an Amazon Prime subscription to watch “Beast Games.” Amazon offers several different subscription plans:
- Amazon Prime: $14.99 per month or $139 per year
- Amazon Video only: $8.99 per month
- Amazon Prime Student: $7.49 per month or $69 per year
Can you watch ‘Beast Games’ on YouTube?
No. MrBeast may be known for his YouTube videos, but “Beast Games” is only available for streaming on Prime Video.
Ahead of ‘Beast Games’ release, contestants sue MrBeast, Amazon
Five contestants sued MrBeast and Amazon in September for workplace abuse, including denial of pay, unsafe conditions and “a culture of misogyny and sexism.”
Per the class action lawsuit, contestants said there were various times when they were deprived of food, sleep and proper medical care. The lawsuit claims that multiple contestants also suffered physical injuries or were hospitalized during production. The lawsuit also alleges that women were subjected to “severe embarrassment” on set and contestants were not subjected to a background check before production.
The lawsuit claims that “Beast Games” contestants were required to enter “illegal contracts” that misclassified them as volunteers in order for the show to qualify for tax breaks while filming in Las Vegas.
New York Times released a report in August that detailed similar claims of unsafe conditions faced by “Beast Games” contestants. A MrBeast spokesperson told the New York Times that the show was “unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather and other unexpected logistical and communications issues.”
Neither MrBeast’s team nor Amazon immediately responded to requests for a comment about the lawsuit when contacted Thursday by USA TODAY.
Who is MrBeast?
Donaldson, 26, is a YouTube content creator who first gained popularity in 2017 when he posted a video counting to 100,000 in 40 hours. He is known for his fast-paced videos in which he hosts larger-than-life competitions and giveaways.
As of Thursday, he had 337 million YouTube subscribers, making his channel the most-subscribed on YouTube.
In his most popular video to date, released in 2021, Donaldson hosts his own version of “Squid Game,” the Netflix television series. In the video, Donaldson pits 456 contestants against each other for a $456,000 cash prize. Unlike the Netflix series, no one actually dies in Donaldson’s video. As of Thursday, the video had more than 678 million views.
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Contributing: Max Hauptman
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.
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