A former MrBeast worker is suing the media firm, alleging she was wrongfully terminated after getting back from parental depart and that she skilled being pregnant discrimination and sexual harassment at her job.
In a federal lawsuit filed within the Japanese District Court docket of North Carolina on Wednesday, plaintiff Lorrayne Mavromatis, employed in 2022 as the top of Instagram, claimed MrBeastYouTube LLC violated primary employment legal guidelines of a number of ladies workers. Jimmy Donaldson, the web character behind MrBeast, was not named as a defendant within the lawsuit.
In response to the grievance, MrBeast didn’t have a parental depart coverage, and the corporate didn’t inform Mavromatis of her rights below the Household and Medical Depart Act (FMLA). The lawsuit alleges MrBeast required her to carry out “substantial and continuous work” over the 8-week interval following the delivery of her little one and that she feared retaliation if she didn’t work throughout her FMLA-mandated depart. Mavromatis was on a piece convention name whereas within the labor and supply room, the lawsuit claims. Three weeks after Mavromatis returned from FLMA, MrBeast allegedly terminated her for being “too high caliber” for her place.
Mavromatis additionally claimed she was sexually harassed throughout her time at Beast Industries and was demoted for issuing a proper grievance concerning office sexual harassment. MrBeast’s former CEO, James Warren, Donaldson’s cousin, allegedly required Mavromatis to satisfy with him at his residence and commented on the way in which she appeared in sure garments. In response to the lawsuit, Warren dismissed Mavromatis’s considerations a couple of male consumer’s unwelcome advances and advised her Donaldson refused to work on sure tasks together with her as a result of “her appearance had a certain sexual effect” on him.
“This is an allegation fabricated for the sole purpose of sparking headlines,” a spokesperson for Warren advised Fortune in an announcement.
Beast Industries, the conglomerate that holds MrBeast’s numerous channels and ventures, denied the claims within the lawsuit and stated Mavromatis was made conscious of her FMLA rights.
“This clout-chasing complaint is built on deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements, and we have the receipts to prove it,” a spokesperson advised Fortune in an announcement. “There is extensive evidence—including Slack and WhatsApp messages, company documents, and witness testimony—that unequivocally refutes her claims.”
‘The Beast Bible’
Within the grievance, Mavromatis outlined the work tradition at Beast Industries. She described the corporate’s handbook, recognized internally as “The Beast Bible,” and claimed it contained pointers together with, “It’s okay for the boys to be childish.” The lawsuit additionally stated the handbook advised staff they’re anticipated to work with depth and pull all-nighters.
After beginning his YouTube channel in 2012, posting movies of himself enjoying Minecraft, Donaldson started making elaborate game-show-style movies with giant money prizes. He garnered a following of 479 million followers of the platform, making him the most-followed YouTube creator. His estimated web value is about $2.6 billion. Beast Industries, primarily based in Greenville, S.C., has about 750 workers.
MrBeast’s firm tradition
Donaldson lately stated he has labored to rent extra skilled executives to guide the corporate.
“I started this business when I was 11, so, obviously, I didn’t even know what that word meant back then,” Donaldson stated on the Time100 Summit on Wednesday. He famous that, as somebody who studied YouTube and content material, he “isn’t maybe the best” to construct firm tradition.
“The new C-suite and stuff that I brought in 24 months ago—it’s been amazing to have people who have actually worked and ran and built large teams like point out things where I’m like, ‘Oh that makes sense. That’s why I hired you,’” he added.
MrBeast is not any stranger to litigation. In 2023, after suing Digital Eating Ideas (VDC), his companion in fast-food ghost kitchen MrBeast Burgers, over alleged poor meals high quality, VDC countersued MrBeast for greater than $100 million, alleging Donaldson used “bullying tactics” to surrender possession of the corporate to him. A court docket dismissed VDC’s counterclaims in 2025, although the lawsuit in opposition to VDC is ongoing.
An ongoing lawsuit filed in 2024 claims contributors in his $5 million sport present Beast Video games, in partnership with Amazon and MGM Studios, had been exploited. Contestants alleged they had been topic to sexual harassment and unfair therapy, in addition to not given meal breaks, sufficient relaxation, or compensated pretty. Others advised The New York Occasions they didn’t obtain medical care after being bodily injured in challenges throughout filming.
A MrBeast spokesperson advised the outlet on the time the shoot “was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather, and other unexpected logistical and communications issues,” and that the corporate had undergone a proper overview of the filming interval.
Beast Video games season three is at present in growth and is predicted to start manufacturing later this 12 months.
