MrBeast’s production company and Amazon sued for alleged harassment of contestants on its reality show

New York () – Five contestants competing on a reality show hosted by MrBeast have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the YouTube star’s production company and Amazon, alleging they were denied payment, forced to perform in unsafe conditions and subjected to a “culture of misogyny and sexism.”

The lawsuit was filed Monday in a Los Angeles court by contestants on the Amazon Prime Video show called “Beast Games,” which was announced in March. It features “more than 1,000 contestants, a $5 million prize pool and many other world records,” creator MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, said at the time.

The 54-page document outlines the allegations, which detail that contestants were subjected to “unreasonable, unsafe and illegal working conditions” that led to “several” contestants being hospitalized. The plaintiffs said they were fed “sporadically and sparsely” and were not given “adequate access to hygiene products or medical care.”

Sexual harassment was also reported, but many specific examples of the allegations were redacted from the document.

The lawsuit, which notes that the show has a $100 million production budget, claims the show obtained an “illegal contract” and provided “false information” to Nevada about the misclassification of contestants as volunteers in order to obtain tax credits. As a result, the show received $2.5 million in incentives from the state to film in Las Vegas.

Last month, a New York Times article detailed some allegations of dangerous conditions experienced by unnamed contestants on the set of the show hosted by Donaldson, 26. They told the paper that some players left the studio on stretchers and witnessed vomiting and fainting, as well as “several hospitalizations.”

A spokesperson for MrBeast told the Times that filming was “unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather and other unexpected logistical and communication issues” and that a formal review of the show has been initiated.

MrBeast did not respond to ‘s request for comment. Amazon declined to comment.

“Beast Games,” which does not yet have a release date, is supposed to be “the biggest game show in history” with the most contestants and the biggest cash prize, MrBeast, a title currently held by Netflix for its “Squid Game: The Challenge,” previously said.

MrBeast is one of the most popular YouTube channels on the platform, with 245 million subscribers. Over the past few years, each of his videos has easily surpassed 100 million views, and has occasionally surpassed 500 million. In addition to his stunt videos, Donaldson is drawing attention for his unique approach to philanthropy.

The controversy arose before this lawsuit in early August, when a 2017 video showed the YouTuber responding to a viewer who commented about “selling out” black people. “The most I would pay is probably 300,” he said in response.

A spokesperson for MrBeast acknowledged that the star used “inappropriate language” in his humor.