Following the highly-anticipated release of "Beast Games," a consumer advocate is expressing concern about the show's partnership with a financial tech company.
The first two episodes of "Beast Games," hosted by YouTube creator James "Jimmy" Donaldson, more popularly known as MrBeast, premiered on Prime Video on Thursday. Per the show's description, 1,000 contestants fight through 10 episodes in physical and mental challenges for prizes that include $5 million, a private island and Lamborghinis.
But following the premiere, a consumer advocate said the show's partnership with financial tech company MoneyLion could be worrisome, especially when it comes to MrBeast's younger demographic.
Additionally, ahead of its release, "Beast Games" made headlines after five contestants sued Donaldson and Amazon for workplace abuse.
In the second episode of "Beast Games," viewers are encouraged to scan a QR code to learn more about a $4.2 million sweepstakes through MoneyLion. To enter, viewers must create a free MoneyLion account, but no purchase, payment or deposit is required to participate or win, according to the sweepstakes' rules.
Though sweepstakes participants aren't required to take any financial actions through MoneyLion, the financial technology company does promote its services, which include personal loans, instant cash, financial tracking and credit builders.
Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, said companies like MoneyLion are a "new breed" of fintech payday loan companies. A payday loan is a short-term, high-interest loan that is typically due on the borrower's next payday.
"We see a lot of these predatory lenders that offer loans that can be the equivalent of 300% APR, but they wrap themselves in all sort of sugarcoating," Saunders said of MoneyLion. "Offering the sweepstakes and something like that to get the excitement of young people is just a way of drawing people into debt-trap loans that increase overdraft fees and put them behind in their financial goals."
According to Parrot Analytics, 46% of MrBeast's audience is made up of viewers between 13-22 years old. Saunders said she finds it "really destressing" that fintech companies like MoneyLion are using "attractive" apps to lure in young people.
"They can make a lot of money from vulnerable people," she said.
In a statement shared with USA TODAY, a MoneyLion spokesperson clarified that the sweepstakes is only for adults 18 and up.
"MoneyLion's mission is to give everyone the power to make their best financial decisions and achieve better outcomes," the spokesperson said. "We remain focused on ensuring that our products and services terms are accessible, fair, and designed to create the best outcomes for our customers."
In September, five "Beast Games" contestants filed a class action lawsuit against MrBeast and Amazon for workplace abuse, citing denial of pay, unsafe conditions and "a culture of misogyny and sexism."
More: YouTuber MrBeast, Amazon sued by reality show contestants alleging abuse, harassment
The lawsuit addresses the workplace created during "episode zero" of "Beast Games" earlier this year. The episode, featured on MrBeast's YouTube channel and not a part of the official Amazon series, features 2,000 contestants fighting for the $5 million prize inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was from this video that the final 1,000 contestants were selected for the Amazon series, which was filmed in Toronto, Canada.
According to the lawsuit, contestants were deprived of food, sleep and proper medical care. The lawsuit claims that multiple contestants suffered physical injuries or were hospitalized during production. The lawsuit also alleges that women were subject to "severe embarrassment" on set and the production did not complete thorough background checks.
The lawsuit also claims "Beast Games" contestants were required to enter "illegal contracts" that misclassified them as volunteers in order for the show to qualify for tax breaks while filming in Las Vegas.
Amazon denied comment and MrBeast's team did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit when contacted Thursday and Friday by USA TODAY.
"Beast Games" is only available for streaming on Prime Video. The first two episodes were released Thursday and a new episode will be released every Thursday at noon EST through Feb. 13. The series features 10 total episodes, each about 40 minutes long.
Donaldson, 26, is a YouTube content creator with more than 337 million YouTube subscribers, making his channel the most-subscribed on the platform. He is known for videos that feature larger-than-life competitions and pricy giveaways.
Donaldson's most viewed video, as of Friday, was a take on the Netflix series "Squid Games." In the video, Donaldson pits 456 contestants against each other for a $456,000 prize. Unlike the Netflix series though, no one actually dies. As of Friday, the video had more than 678 million views.
Contributing: Max Hauptman
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].