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MrBeast’s production arm has been sued by a former company executive, who alleges sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination after she was fired upon her return from maternity leave.
CEO Lauren Mavromatis describes Beast Industries as a “boys’ club” where many female employees experienced sexual harassment by their supervisors. It alleges that company leaders, one of whom allegedly dismissed concerns about unwanted touching by the producer, made repeated comments about their appearance.
Mavrommatis, in a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in North Carolina, alleges violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act, wrongful discharge, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is neither naming nor filing a lawsuit for sexual harassment.
The company said in a statement that the “influence-hunting complaint” makes “intentional misrepresentations and categorically false statements” that can be rebutted. “There is ample evidence — including Slack and WhatsApp messages, company documents and witness testimony — that unequivocally refutes her claims,” he added.
Mavrommatis was hired in 2022 as head of Instagram and was later promoted to head of creative, a role in which she was paid $250,000 to run MrBeast’s vertical division, according to the complaint. She says she has been subjected to numerous retaliatory demotions and transfers.
In one incident, Mavrommatis alleged that former CEO James Warren harassed her by having her meet at his home for one-on-one meetings while denying concerns about a client’s sexual harassment. When she asked him why Donaldson didn’t work with her on certain projects, he told her she was a “beautiful woman” and that her “appearance had a certain sexual effect on Jimmy,” the suit says.
The company said in a statement that the allegation was “fabricated for the sole purpose of generating headlines” and for a “million-dollar payday.”
In the complaint, Mavrommatis points to a booklet distributed to employees, which states that “no means no” and that “the number of hours you work is irrelevant.” It alleges that the company did not have a process for reporting incidents of sexual harassment and discrimination in 2023, when it filed a complaint against Warren and Donaldson.
After the investigation, the lawsuit says Mavrommatis was demoted to social media merchandise manager. When she went on maternity leave shortly after her demotion last year, her supervisor asked her to work on multiple projects, one of which included a trip to Brazil, according to the complaint. Mavrommatis says he was terminated three weeks after returning from vacation.
When asked about the lawsuit at the Time100 Summit in New York, Donaldson confirmed that he had “brought on more experienced people” as his business grew into a major media organization with 750 employees. He stressed that he wasn’t “the best at creating a culture on this scale, so it was great to have a new group of executives and the things they had.”
A source familiar with the situation said that in March 2025, the company distributed an official company handbook detailing Family and Medical Leave Act rights, among other things, as Beast Industries established formal processes and policies.
