Former MrBeast Employee Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Harassment and Post-Maternity Firing
A former employee of Beast Industries, the media production company owned by YouTube superstar MrBeast, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging she endured years of sexual harassment and workplace gender bias before being fired shortly after returning from maternity leave.
Detailed Allegations in the Federal Complaint
The lawsuit was filed by Lorrayne Mavromatis in North Carolina federal court on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Mavromatis, who served as social media manager for the company, accuses MrBeast YouTube, LLC and GameChanger 24/7, LLC of violating the Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees eligible employees unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons including childbirth.
In addition to the FMLA violation claims, Mavromatis has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging discrimination based on sex, pregnancy, and retaliation. She claims she worked "nonstop" following her baby's birth, even participating in work meetings while in the delivery room.
"I was still bleeding, and I just had to show up," Mavromatis told The Associated Press in an interview. According to her account, she was fired less than three weeks after returning to work full time following her maternity leave.
Company Response and Counterclaims
A Beast Industries spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit as a "clout-chasing complaint" built on "deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements" in an emailed statement. The company maintains that Mavromatis's position was eliminated during a reorganization when a new head of ecommerce restructured her team.
The company provided evidence including a March 31, 2025 exchange on the workplace messaging app Slack, in which a coworker told Mavromatis that she "shouldn't even be checking" her messages after Mavromatis canceled a meeting because she was "actually in labor at the hospital as we speak."
Regarding allegations that MrBeast failed to inform her of her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the company shared a screenshot of her signature confirming receipt of the employee handbook containing FMLA policies. "We will not submit to opportunistic lawyers looking to manufacture a payday from us," the statement concluded.
Company Culture Under Renewed Scrutiny
Mavromatis's lawsuit raises serious questions about the workplace culture at YouTube's most popular creator's company as new leadership seeks to rapidly expand the media empire founded by Jimmy Donaldson under his MrBeast alias. The complaint portrays what it describes as a toxic, misogynistic workplace environment that Beast Industries has reportedly tried to address in recent years.
This comes as Donaldson's media empire launches ambitious ventures into television and financial services, including the "Beast Games" Amazon Prime reality competition show now in its second season and the recent acquisition of teenager-focused banking app Step.
Questions about Beast Industries' internal culture first surfaced two years ago following a social media controversy over Donaldson's past racist and homophobic language, coinciding with accusations that a longtime collaborator shared inappropriate sexual messages with minors.
In an August 2024 email to employees, Donaldson acknowledged the need to "create a culture that makes all our employees feel safe and allows them to do their best work." The company subsequently fired several employees following a third-party investigation that identified "isolated instances" of workplace harassment and misconduct.
High-Pressure Work Environment Described
According to the lawsuit, Beast Industries encouraged employees to "go to great lengths" to complete their work. The complaint references a 36-page "HOW TO SUCCEED IN MRBEAST PRODUCTION" guide circulated among employees during Mavromatis's tenure, which included sections stating "It's okay for the boys to be childish" and "The Amount of hours you work is irrelevant."
Mavromatis claims she joined a team meeting from her hospital bed while in active labor, fearing she would be fired if she refused. "I actually had to hold my breath in between talks because of how hard the contractions were," she recounted.
Now 34, Mavromatis was hired in August 2022 as MrBeast's head of Instagram and received two promotions within a year. Between June 2023 and January 2024, she oversaw operations for the company's verticals division in an executive-level position.
Specific Allegations of Inappropriate Behavior
The complaint details an incident where Mavromatis asked James Warren—Donaldson's cousin and CEO at the time—for advice after noticing Donaldson would not make eye contact with her. According to the lawsuit, Warren responded: "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 has attributed Donaldson's frequent bathroom trips to his Crohn's disease, a gastrointestinal condition.
Mavromatis further alleges that after reporting sexual harassment issues and a hostile work environment to human resources—which was headed by Donaldson's mother—she was transferred and demoted to "an obscure role." The company has refuted this claim, calling it "false and inaccurate."
Legal Support and Broader Implications
TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women's Law Center, founded during the early days of the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct, has announced it is supporting 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," said senior director Jennifer Mondino. "We are in a collective fight to address a longstanding culture of harassment that relies on entrenched silence and shame."
The lawsuit was filed just ahead of Thursday's TIME100 celebration in New York City, where Donaldson is scheduled to be honored as one of the magazine's most influential people alongside Pope Leo XIV, President Donald Trump, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Beast Industries, which employed approximately 450 people last year, continues its expansion with recent hires from major companies including NBCUniversal and TikTok as the brand attempts to establish success beyond Donaldson's personal name and image.
