There are two probable ways that you’ve heard of MrBeast. Either you’ve followed his journey on YouTube, where he’s built a brand on giving money to charitable causes and outlandish stunts and contests, all of which have made him the biggest YouTuber on the planet, with 420 million subscribers and counting.
Or, like me, you know him mainly thanks to to the mountain of controversies building up about him.
What are the Beast Games controversies?
Arguably, the most high-profile of these centres on a TV show he made in collaboration with Prime Video: Beast Games. Inspired by the dystopian and bloody Netflix series Squid Game (and not the first time that MrBeast hopped aboard this particular hype train – he previously made a YouTube video titled: $456,000 Squid Game in Real Life) this reality competition saw 1,000 contestants compete in a series of tasks for a grand prize of $5 million, the largest pot ever of any game show, ever.
But it had so many problems associated with it that there’s an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to the Beast Games lawsuit.
The charges against the Prime Video reality series include sexual harassment, lack of food and medical care for contestants, unsafe conditions, unpaid wages and expenses, and false information provided for production so the show could avoid tax. Yikes indeed.
MrBeast stated last year that the controversies were “blown out of proportion”. There’s been little information made public about the status of the lawsuits since they were filed, but one former crew member did give an interview five months ago to Business Insider about nearly being crushed on set.
The interviewee called on MrBeast to take accountability for what happened and ensure that nothing similar would occur again.
Despite all of that, Prime Video renewed Beast Games not only for a second season, but a third as well. Why? Well, it’s probably the fact that it was Amazon Prime Video’s most popular unscripted show ever, with 50 million viewers in less than a month of its premiere, according to Mashable.
And now, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson is looking to adapt yet another fictional series that’s just as grim as the premise of Squid Game – all in the name of entertainment, of course.
Why the hell does MrBeast want to recreate The Hunger Games?
If, for some reason, you aren’t familiar with The Hunger Games, let me give you a quick rundown.
First written as a series of books by Suzanne Collins and later adapted into films that skyrocketed Jennifer Lawrence to fame, the franchise was set in the world of Panem, which was divided into twelve districts. Every year, two contestants between the ages of 12-18 were chosen to compete in a televised fight to the death in a controlled arena.
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The story was a bleak look at how far capitalism could go to satisfy the entertainment of the elite – those in The Capitol (a similarly greedy bunch to the VIPs of Squid Game). It was a fascinating premise because, quite frankly, it’s the furthest thing from a competition you’d actually want to see in real life.
But, like Squid Game, producers have been inspired by the wrong elements – being drawn to the competition format, rather than the very obvious ‘eat the rich’ messages they contain. Yet again, MrBeast is missing the point of what makes these stories so compelling in the first place.
The content creator set out his ambitions for a Hunger Games-style competition during an interview with The Today Show earlier this week:
“Well yes, obviously we won’t kill people. But yeah, you must have talked to my team… I’ve been sitting on this idea where it’d be fun to grab potentially 26 random people, to put them on an island and – not use real weapons, maybe like laser tag or something like that – and then the last remaining one wins a million dollars, to recreate Hunger Games in real life. I think that’d absolutely crush.”
This announcement has generated a lot of conversation already, which means more coverage for Donaldson. Plus, it makes sense he’s eyeing up The Hunger Games to recreate, as the series has re-entered the pop culture scene with the March release of the book Sunrise on the Reaping, which is also being made into a film due for release in 2026.
But his last contest doesn’t inspire confidence that this (potentially) new one will run smoothly.
Is MrBeast’s real-life Hunger Games another lawsuit waiting to happen?
As relieved as I am to hear that MrBeast won’t actually be murdering contestants, there are many alarm bells ringing.
Putting a bunch of people on an island is incredibly ambitious, considering that Beast Games had many issues protecting contestants. And while yes, it looks as if no actual weapons will be made available, there will surely be pursuit – something that could very much result in an accident or an injury.
Add to that the nature of survival in The Hunger Games. In the arena, contestants must either hunt down food packs, rely on sponsors or forage their own sustenance. Does MrBeast wish to follow this rule as well? Beast Games allegedly struggled to properly feed people in a controlled, city-based environment.
Which, of course, leads me on to that Business Insider interview, in which a crew member claims that he was nearly crushed to death. Does Amazon truly have faith that Donaldson can ensure the safety of contestants on an island, with the sort of crew and working conditions he assembled last time for Beast Games? And that’s not to mention the very troubling sexual harassment claims on the set.
I’m also going to assume that this version of The Hunger Games will recruit adult participants, because (rightfully) many laws in place protect and safeguard children. So, there’s that at least.
I’d like to hope that the YouTuber and studio have learnt their lessons from last time, and that more precautions will be taken if this bizarre Hunger Games rip-off goes ahead. And if they aren’t, well, I can only assume that Mr Beast is taking this competition way more literally and wants to be seen as the next President Snow.
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