Allegations Keep Piling Up Against MrBeast

What the heck is going on here?

Yeesh Games

In the wake of claims of philanthropy fraud and resurfaced insensitive comments, uber-popular YouTuber Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson is also facing allegations surrounding his forthcoming reality game show, "Beast Games."

As the New York Times reports based on interviews with contestants on the forthcoming game show produced by Donaldson and MGM Amazon Studios, participants in the "Beast Games" contest claim they were denied basic needs, resulting in illness and in some cases even requiring hospitalization.

With 2,000 contestants duking it out on a series of stunts in Las Vegas in hopes of winning $5 million, would-be participants were asked to sign liability waivers that included everything from being potentially buried alive to thrown overboard.

While the game show itself was slated to be an endurance competition a la Netflix's fictional and dystopian "Squid Game" show — which, notably, spurred Netflix's own ill-advised real-life contest and a MrBeast version, too — contestants didn't expect the grim mistreatment they're alleging.

More than a dozen participants, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity because they said they signed non-disclosure agreements, claimed they weren't given enough food, were denied necessary medication, and witnessed other contestants being taken away on stretchers.

Beyond those basic living needs, some contestants alleged that they were not given the underwear they'd provided to production staff for later disbursement on the show. Even worse: women who'd been menstruating during the filming said that they were denied menstrual products when they were needed and in some cases had been mocked by staffers when they pleaded for them to be disbursed.

Insult to Injury

Adding fuel to the fire are the other, often more nebulous accusations piling up around the viral philanthropist, too.

These claims range from the more concrete criticisms about Donaldson making racist and sexist remarks in recordings from when he was younger — for which, to his credit, the 26-year-old star has apologized — to anonymous allegations that he's a "fraud" whose giveaways are phony.

In response to the NYT, a spokesperson for MrBeast said that the "Beast Games" shoot "was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather and other unexpected logistical and communications issues" that led to some setbacks. Donaldson's production company has, as the spokesperson insisted, begun a formal review of what happened and has already "taken steps to ensure that we learn from this experience."

Legalese aside, that sort of vague response sounds a lot like making excuses — and when someone this high-profile is at the end of these sorts of claims, people are undeniably going to pay attention.

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