MrBeast criticised for ‘sadistic’ and ‘dystopian’ Beast Games as first two episodes launch on Prime Video

Beast Games, the Prime Video gameshow fronted by YouTuber MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson), continues to attract controversy online, now that the first two episodes have landed on the streaming platform and have seen the series branded “evil” and “psychological warfare” by viewers.

The show has already been the subject of a lawsuit by contestants, who have sued both Donaldson and Amazon Prime Video for “inhumane” working conditions, and alleged sexual harassment and a failure to pay the minimum wage.

The content creator addressed the allegations on Twitter/X at the end of November, when he said the crew have “tons of behind the scenes dropping when the show does to show how blown out of proportion these claims were”.

Except now that the series is out in the world, people have tuned in to see exactly what Beast Games is all about.

Spanning 10 episodes, viewers can “expect to see their favourite type of ‘MrBeast-style’ challenges fuelled by time-sensitive emotional decisions, pyrotechnics, and of course, big rewards” – the grand prize being $5 million in cash, which Donaldson claims is the “largest grand prize in entertainment history”.

Yet watching 1,000 people clamour for unbelievable amounts of money saw one Twitter/X user describe the show as being “sadistic working-class torture porn”:

It’s already being compared to fictional competitions from pop culture such as The Hunger Games and Squid Game – the latter being one which Donaldson himself recreated in real life back in November 2021.

And one user contrasted the gameshow with that of Donaldson’s philanthropic work, which has seen him help 1,000 deaf people to “hear for the first time” and treat 1,000 people’s blindness – both of which sparked criticism online:

Beast Games continues on Prime Video on Boxing Day, which also happens to be the release day for the second series of Squid Game.

Make of that what you will…

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