MrBeast’s Problems Deepen – Newsweek

MrBeast has found himself embroiled in controversy lately and in recent weeks, his problems have only gotten deeper.

At 26 years old, MrBeast—real name Jimmy Donaldson—holds the record for the most subscribers on YouTube, with 316 million followers at the time of writing. According to Forbes, in 2022 he was earning $54 million a year, mostly from ads on his YouTube videos. He has also become known for giving back to his followers, often uploading videos of his charitable acts.

While MrBeast has always been loved by his loyal fans, online opinion of him has slowly started to shift after a video resurfaced online of him using racial and homophobic slurs. It’s not only this that has people questioning the YouTube star. A person claiming to have worked for MrBeast accused him of having prior knowledge of the allegations that have been leveled against his frequent collaborator, Ava Kris Tyson. MrBeast has also been accused of hosting “illegal lotteries” and staging content and another accused him of knowingly hiring a registered sex offender.

Previously, Newsweek spoke to various PR crisis experts to find out whether the popular YouTuber could be “canceled.” They said that while MrBeast has faced a variety of controversies and hurdles, the YouTuber’s brand has shown resilience and the generous reputation he has built for himself won’t simply disappear.

However, since then, MrBeast has found himself at the center of a class action lawsuit and has been criticized for launching Lunchly, a “groundbreaking new better-for-you lunch option” that combines products they already sell into an all-in-one meal.

Here Newsweek has compiled the new controversies surrounding MrBeast. Newsweek emailed a MrBeast spokesperson for comment on Thursday outside of normal business hours.

Class Action Lawsuit

A class action lawsuit has been filed against MrBeast’s companies, as well as the production arm of Amazon, and accepted by Los Angeles Superior Court. The case involves the participants in the MrBeast reality competition show, Beast Games, taped over the summer. It alleges multiple labor law violations as well as false advertising and unfair business practices.

Beast Games had over 1,000 participants competing for a $5 million payday. The internet celebrity is being sued by five contestants, who are alleging “unreasonable, unsafe and unlawful employment conditions.”

These participants claim they were deprived of medical care, food, sleep and the necessities of basic hygiene. The filing claims that production staff created a “toxic” work environment and women experienced “sexual harassment.” According to a press release from the complainants’ lawyers, those sections have been redacted to comply with the “confidentiality provisions” that the competitors signed. A release date for the show has not yet been announced.

“I wanted to join [the class action] because I was a fan of MrBeast and his videos made me smile during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said one of the female plaintiffs in the complaint, identified only as “Contestant 5.”

“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.”

While participants claim they would be paid for participating in the show, some of the plaintiffs allege they still have not been paid.

“As extreme as the allegations against defendants are here, the law could not be more clear,” stated Robert N. Pafundi of Pafundi Law Firm, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

“Participants entered into contracts and they were promised compensation for their services. Their expectation of compensation, along with them being consistently under the control and supervision of the production staff, makes them employees under California law. As such, they were entitled to, and denied, certain protections. And when you add to that the extreme neglect, degradation, harassment and inhumane conditions – it’s quite simply a massive dereliction of duty, for which the defendants must and will now be held accountable.”

Lizelle S. Brandt of Singian Law, lead counsel for plaintiffs, added: “It is obvious that the female participants in particular deserved better. The production staff not only participated in, but also created, conditions that fostered a hostile work environment and culminated in the sexual harassment of female participants. While we cannot undo what they have suffered at the hands of those they trusted, we want to at least bring them some measure of justice.”

Lunchly Criticism

MrBeast has addressed criticism aimed at him, Logan Paul, and KSI for introducing what they promote as a “healthier” version of Lunchables called Lunchly. The trio has described it as a “revolutionary new lunch option” designed with the younger audience in mind.

This meal kit includes one of three choices—The Pizza, Turkey Stack ‘Ems, or Fiesta Nachos—alongside a bottle of Prime Hydration, created by Paul and KSI, and a Feastables milk chocolate bar made by MrBeast.

Paul has labeled the meals as a “healthier alternative” to Lunchables, a product he claims dominates the market. MrBeast emphasized that their aim is to “shake up the kids’ lunch market with better-tasting, healthier options.”

Despite their intentions, the launch has faced online backlash, with many critics deeming the food unhealthy. In response, MrBeast retweeted a post from the X account (formerly Twitter) belonging to DramaAlert, explaining the rationale behind Lunchly and defending its health benefits compared to Lunchables.

“Lunchables sells hundreds of millions of units and countless people eat it. Our goal is to give people a better for you alternative to it. Our turkey meal for example is 80 less calories, 60% less sugar, more electrolytes, we use real cheese they use ‘cheese product’ (they can’t call it cheese), higher quality meat, etc,” he wrote.

“Obviously eating fresh chicken and broccoli is healthier but if someone is going to eat a premade meal like this (which millions of people do thru lunchables) then I think giving them a higher quality version at roughly the same price is a net good imo and why we launched Lunchly. Also as we get economies of scale and can get things cheaper we will be only improving the product more and more.”

A community note on MrBeast’s post mentioned that Feastables chocolates were once marketed as healthier but later had their recipe changed, now including more ingredients disguised as “unsweetened chocolate.”