It would be for naught to try to explore Youtube without seeing superstar vlogger Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast. His Youtube channel boast 317 million subscribers, videos ranging from ordinary people getting the chance to win big sums of money for completing complex obstacle courses to challenges that can extend days or weeks.
“Beast Games”, streaming on Amazon Prime, is under the reality competition program with $5 million in prize money. However, following the casting and filming in the summer, 5 of the contestants, unnamed in the lawsuit, list complaints including being “penned into enclosed spaces” and put “under conditions where they were underfed, overtired” as well as “competing in stressful and exhausting challenge for a cash prize that could change their lives,” according to the complaint explained by NBC News.
The defendants, both Donaldson and Amazon, “failed to provide a safe and healthful place to work”, jeopardizing the workers safety through not providing “sufficient food or drink” as well as keeping the contestants awake, forcing them to participate in games that “unreasonably risked physical and mental injury” NBC reports the plaintiffs went on to say.
The overall environment on set gets labeled as misogynistic and sexist, specifically affecting the female contestants. It goes on to point towards the “Mr Beast Handbook”, a set of guidelines given to the production crew to follow. This handbook encouraged poor behavior and letting the boys on set do whatever they wanted.
So what does this mean? Why is this important? There have been countless examples over the years of social media uptick where people of prominent social media following have come under fire for poor decisions or badly vetted content. In today’s day and age, these people have been given a platform that is widespread and relatively unchecked. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that as people within the influencer bracket must be held accountable for their actions and influence for audiences across demographics.