A woman who previously worked for YouTube sensation MrBeast’s production company has filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was terminated following her return from maternity leave and endured years of sexual harassment on the job.
Lorrayne Mavromatis filed the legal action in North Carolina federal court on Wednesday against MrBeastYouTube, LLC and GameChanger 24/7, LLC, claiming violations of federal employment protections that guarantee eligible workers unpaid leave for family and medical situations, including childbirth. She has also lodged a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission citing discrimination based on sex, pregnancy, and retaliation.
According to Mavromatis, she continued working around the clock after giving birth and even while in the hospital delivery room. “I was still bleeding, and I just had to show up,” Mavromatis stated during an Associated Press interview.
She says her employment was terminated fewer than three weeks after resuming full-time duties.
A representative for Beast Industries dismissed the legal filing as a “clout-chasing complaint” containing “deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements” in a written response. The company maintains Mavromatis lost her job due to restructuring by a new ecommerce director who eliminated her role.
The organization provided documentation of a March 31, 2025 workplace chat where a colleague advised Mavromatis she “shouldn’t even be checking” messages after she postponed a meeting, writing she was “actually in labor at the hospital as we speak.” Responding to claims they failed to notify her about Family and Medical Leave Act protections, the company showed proof of her acknowledgment of receiving employee policies including FMLA guidelines.
“We will not submit to opportunistic lawyers looking to manufacture a payday from us,” their statement declared.
The legal complaint presents troubling claims about workplace conditions at the organization behind YouTube’s biggest content creator, as new leadership works to rapidly grow the media business established by Jimmy Donaldson, known professionally as MrBeast.
The lawsuit describes a harmful, male-dominated work environment that Beast Industries has recently attempted to reform while Donaldson’s entertainment empire pursues major expansions into television programming and financial technology. His “Beast Games” Amazon Prime competition series has secured two seasons, and the company recently purchased Step, a banking application targeting teenagers.
Concerns about Beast Industries’ workplace atmosphere emerged two years ago following online controversy over Donaldson’s previous offensive language and allegations that a long-time associate sent inappropriate messages to underage individuals. In an August 2024 message to staff, Donaldson acknowledged his responsibility to “create a culture that makes all our employees feel safe and allows them to do their best work.”
Following an external investigation that found “isolated instances” of workplace harassment and inappropriate behavior, Beast Industries terminated multiple workers.
Donaldson has expanded his influence in American media beyond YouTube platforms. He attended last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, promoted business software company Salesforce during a Super Bowl advertisement, and joined the voice cast for the forthcoming “Angry Birds Movie 3.”
Beast Industries, which had approximately 450 employees last year, maintains its growth trajectory. The organization has actively recruited leadership talent from major companies like NBCUniversal and TikTok as it seeks success independent of Donaldson’s personal brand.
The timing of Mavromatis’s lawsuit precedes Thursday’s TIME100 event in New York City, where Donaldson will receive recognition as one of the publication’s most influential figures, alongside Pope Leo XIV, President Donald Trump, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
According to the lawsuit, Beast Industries pushed workers to “go to great lengths” to complete assignments, referencing a 36-page employee manual titled “HOW TO SUCCEED IN MRBEAST PRODUCTION” that was distributed during Mavromatis’s tenure. The document contained sections stating “It’s okay for the boys to be childish” and “The Amount of hours you work is irrelevant.”
Within this work culture, Mavromatis says she participated in a team conference call from her hospital bed during active labor, fearing termination if she declined.
“I actually had to hold my breath in between talks because of how hard the contractions were,” she explained.
The 34-year-old Mavromatis began working as MrBeast’s Instagram director in August 2022 and received two promotions within twelve months. From June 2023 through January 2024, she managed the company’s verticals division in an executive capacity.
Several months into her employment, she approached James Warren — Donaldson’s cousin and the CEO at that time — seeking guidance after observing that Donaldson avoided direct eye contact with her.
The legal filing states Warren told her: “Jimmy gets really awkward around beautiful women. Let’s just say that when you’re around and he goes to the restroom, he’s not actually using the restroom.”
The company explained Donaldson’s frequent bathroom visits as related to his Crohn’s disease diagnosis.
After Mavromatis brought sexual harassment concerns and hostile workplace conditions to human resources, which was overseen by Donaldson’s mother, the lawsuit claims she was reassigned and downgraded to “an obscure role.” The company disputes this characterization, labeling it “false and inaccurate.”
TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women’s Law Center, established during the early #MeToo movement addressing sexual misconduct, announced its support for Mavromatis’s case.
“Abusive workplaces rely on a persistent lack of accountability. We see this pattern frequently, where those with influence and power are allowed to harm others and retaliate against those who decide to speak up,” stated senior director Jennifer Mondino. “We are in a collective fight to address a longstanding culture of harassment that relies on entrenched silence and shame.”
