Dive Brief:
- A former employee has alleged that MrBeastYouTube, LLC and GameChanger 24/7, LLC — collectively referred to as MrBeast — harassed her due to her gender and fired her three weeks after she returned from maternity leave. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of North Carolina, alleged violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act and North Carolina state law.
- The plaintiff was a social media manager at the company who claims that she faced sexual harassment from former CEO James Warren, as well as demeaning behavior from male colleagues, including Jimmy Donaldson, who professionally goes by MrBeast on social media.
- According to the complaint, the plaintiff also “knew if she did not continue to grind and get work done, as asked by MrBeast managers and expected by MrBeast, she would not have a job to return to after her leave.” MrBeast did not respond to HR Dive’s request for comment.
Dive Insight:
The employee handbook came under scrutiny in the lawsuit, with the court document alleging that the handbook said, “It’s okay for the boys to be childish” and if talent wanted to draw something vulgar “on the white board in the video or do something stupid, let them.” The lawsuit alleged that the failure to create a sufficient handbook made women at the companies “suffer from violations of the most basic employment laws.”
Apart from facing alleged sexual harassment from Warren, the plaintiff said she was told to “shut up” by male co-workers. When she went to MrBeast’s head of human resources, she was allegedly told that her claims were “unsubstantiated.” She was also subsequently demoted, according to court docs.
Allegations of workplace issues have plagued the MrBeast business entity. During the filming of “The Beast Games,” contestants complained online about poor working conditions, according to reporting in the AP and The New York Times. Five unnamed Beast Games contestants filed a related class-action lawsuit alleging “dangerous conditions” and sexual harassment in September 2024.
The April 2026 lawsuit also alleges that executives at MrBeast’s companies laughed at game show contestants not having proper access to feminine hygiene products.
MrBeast reportedly vowed to hire a CHRO following these allegations of workplace abuse, according to a confidential memo obtained by Associated Press. “I recognize that I also need to create a culture that makes all our employees feel safe and allows them to do their best work,” Donaldson was reported to have said at the time.
MrBeast reportedly denied the claims in a Wednesday statement to Deadline.
