While Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson thought he was onto a winner with Beast Games, the real-life Squid Game copycat ended up being more trouble than it's worth. Beast Games might’ve entered the record books by giving away the biggest cash prize ever for a reality TV series, but it ended up costing MrBeast a fortune and has seen him embroiled in several court cases.
As well as allegations of sexual harassment and mistreatment of contestants, there was an apparent accident on the set. If that wasn't enough, eventual winner Jeffrey Randall Allen learned that taxes would mean he'd only end up with around $5 million of his $10 million winnings.
Now, Allen has lifted the lid on Beast Games, and as well as discussing his prize fund, he's debunked the idea of contestant mistreatment.
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When asked about the specific controversy surrounding the first round of filming that took place with 2,000 contestants at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium, Allen said: "I think anytime you're doing something for the first time, it's hard.
“Then you factor in it's 2,000 people in the middle of the night, so I think the logistics were challenging."
While suggesting there were some problems, Allen continued: "For me, my experience was if I'm going to go compete for $5 million, I don't expect it to be the Ritz Carlton. I don't expect it to be kind of the most lush bedding."
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Saying he thought he was going to 'rough it', Allen said they all got sleeping bags and had to sleep on the floor, but they were given three square meals a day. He says he ate all of his meals, consisting of the likes of chicken, eggs, and oatmeal, although some people didn't appear to like theirs: "You know some people might have been disgruntled but my experience was exactly what I signed up for."
Despite the Vegas teething problems, he says it soon got better: "Once we got to the Beast games on Prime, oh my gosh, like it was like the best accommodation, best food, the bedding in the city was fantastic.
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"I have no complaints for Vegas or Toronto, but I can definitely see where some people might go, 'Gosh, you know I wasn't used to the conditions,' but for me, it was exactly what I expected."
He concluded: "They push you every single way, emotionally, psychologically, even physically, but you kind of leave there smiling. That was great, I wouldn't change a thing."
In terms of what Donaldson was like, the Beast Games winner also had plenty of praise for the show's host. Even though he didn't get to speak to everyone, he was especially there as the numbers started being whittled down.
As for what he thinks of MrBeast, Allen said: "You know being the number one YouTuber in the world at his age, and you know watching his content, you can just tell he is committed to his craft. He's a perfectionist, I didn't realize outside of that how competitive he was."
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Continuing his glowing review of MrBeast, Allen concluded: "He could easily give me lip service, but he didn't, and it was like, 'Man this guy, this guy cares too,' which I think is just. I don't want to say it's hard to find in the space, but it's like I just didn't expect him to be that thoughtful this young."
While controversy continues to surround Beast Games, it's far from what Allen appears to have experienced.