Jimmy Donaldson is the internet’s fairy godmother.
Better known online as MrBeast, Donaldson, 26, has made a name for himself as a benevolent YouTube star who has racked up hundreds of millions of subscribers for his provocative brand of philanthropy, like the time he paid for 1,000 people to receive cataract surgery. The resulting eight-minute video was hyperbolically titled “1,000 Blind People See for the First Time.”
Extravagant prizes have become his calling card. He’s given away homes, cars, a private island and lots and lots of cash. Usually it comes with a dark twist: Once, he offered a man $10,000 a day for each day he was willing to live in a grocery store without leaving. In his most popular video, “$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!” 456 people competed in a game show inspired by the dystopian Netflix drama “Squid Game.” (In the Netflix show, down-and-out contestants play deadly versions of children’s games to win $38 million.)
When in March Donaldson and Amazon MGM Studios announced “Beast Games,” a reality competition show in the mold of MrBeast’s popular videos, thousands of people jumped at the chance, posting on Reddit threads about the application process and waiting hopefully to be accepted.
The prize: $5 million.
Familiar with MrBeast’s content and with the lengths to which those who appear in his videos must go in order to win, many expected outlandish and even potentially risky challenges.
During an intake process this year, several contestants told The New York Times that they had been asked whether they would be willing to be buried alive or travel to outer space. One contestant recalled being asked if she would be able to swim to shore if thrown overboard from a boat. “I understand that such activities may cause me death, illness, or serious bodily injury, including, but not limited to exhaustion, dehydration, overexertion, burns, and heat stroke,” read a line in a contract, reviewed by the Times, that applicants were required to sign. (Such language is commonplace in reality television contracts.)
What they did not expect, however, were the more mundane yet potentially dangerous inconveniences that they said had befallen them during the competition.
Speaking with the Times on the condition of anonymity due to nondisclosure agreements, over a dozen people who participated in the first installment of “Beast Games” said that they had not received adequate food or medical care and that some competitors had suffered injuries from the physical challenges. (The event was being filmed for Donaldson’s YouTube channel to select contestants to participate in the Amazon MGM show later this summer.)
Some contestants left the competition arena on stretchers, a contestant said, though it was unclear if any of those contestants had faced serious medical conditions. Another described watching fellow contestants vomiting and appearing to pass out. There were several hospitalizations.
In a text message, a spokesperson for MrBeast said the shoot “was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather and other unexpected logistical and communications issues.” The spokesperson said MrBeast had started a formal review and had “taken steps to ensure that we learn from this experience.” — NYT
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
