--- title: "Allegations Keep Piling Up Against MrBeast" description: "Uber-popular YouTuber Jimmy \"MrBeast\" Donaldson is facing allegations surrounding his forthcoming reality game show, \"Beast Games.\"" date: "2024-08-07" modified: "2024-08-07" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/allegations-mrbeast-contest" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "influencers" - "mrbeast" - "the digest" - "YouTube" --- # Allegations Keep Piling Up Against MrBeast ![Uber-popular YouTuber Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson is facing allegations surrounding his forthcoming reality game show, "Beast Games."]() *SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 26: Fans look on during the MrBeast Feastables launch at Sydney Opera House on June 26, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage) \Image: Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images\* ## 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. **More on web weirdness:** [*Man Goes on No Jumper, Brags About Various Crimes, Gets Charged by Feds*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()