MrBeast and Amazon's "Beast Games" Lawsuit

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Overview

MrBeast and Amazon's "Beast Games" Lawsuit refers to a class-action lawsuit filed by five contestants of the Amazon Prime Video reality TV show Beast Games, hosted by American YouTuber MrBeast. The lawsuit was filed in mid-September 2024, claiming they were denied payment, forced to participate in unsafe conditions and subjected to a “culture of misogyny and sexism.” Online, the news became a viral topic of discourse with some netizens posting jokes and memes indicating the "downfall of Mr.Beast" amid the controversy.

Background

On September 17th, 2024, Variety^[1] revealed that a class-action lawsuit against YouTube star MrBeast and Amazon Prime Video has been filed on behalf of five unnamed contestants in the Beast Games reality TV show, alleging they were subjected to “chronic mistreatment,” sexual harassment and more.

That same day, the X^[2] page @DiscussingFilm tweeted about the lawsuit, adding a quote from the document,^[3] which alleges "several contestants ended up hospitalized… others reported suffering physical and mental complications while being subjected to chronic mistreatment, degradation and, for the female contestants, hostile working conditions.” The tweet (seen below) amassed more than 77,000 likes and 7,400 reposts in a day.

Developments

As of September 18th, 2024, MrBeast nor Amazon immediately responded to media outlets' requests for comment about the lawsuit,^[4] with the New York Times^[7] reporting that some participants witnessed vomiting and people passing out, "several hospitalizations" and others even leaving the arena on stretchers.

Online Reactions

The MrBeast and Amazon lawsuit quickly went viral on social media following the initial media coverage in mid-September 2024, sparking a debate about the allegations against the companies, as well as many memes and jokes, some of which called it the "downfall of Mr.Beast."

For example, on September 17th, 2024, the YouTube channel @GeeksandGamers^[5] posted a video about the lawsuit titled "MrBeast in BIG Trouble," amassing roughly 59,000 views and 4,400 likes in a day.

Also on September 17th, Redditor^[6] TheUhTheUmUh posted MrBeast's monkey version from the Bloons Tower Defense game, captioning the post, "Do you think MrBeast monkey is being sued for mistreatment of his Monkey workers?" The post (seen below) amassed more than 1,700 upvotes and 50 comments in a day.