Former MrBeast's Employee Suing for Sexual Harassment and Wrongful Termination
MrBeast's company is back in legal trouble.
Lorrayne Mavromatis, a former Head of Instagram at Beast Industries, filed a civil lawsuit in North Carolina federal court on April 22 alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. The complaint targets Beast Industries — the media company built around YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson — and specifically names CEO James Warren, who is Donaldson's cousin and stepped down from the role at the end of 2023.
Beast Industries denied everything. Firmly.
"This clout-chasing complaint is built on deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements, and we have the receipts to prove it," a company spokesperson said.
What She's Alleging
Mavromatis was hired in August 2022 as Head of Instagram and was promoted twice in her first year, more than doubling her salary. By her account, the company's culture was a different story beneath those promotions.
She alleges Warren regularly had her meet him in a "dimly lit" room at his home rather than the office, during which he made inappropriate comments about her appearance. She also claims Warren told her that Donaldson got "really awkward around beautiful women" and implied something inappropriate about his bathroom breaks when she was present — a comment the Beast Industries spokesperson called "ridiculous" and "fabricated for the sole purpose of sparking headlines." The spokesperson noted that Donaldson has Crohn's disease, which he has previously discussed publicly, and accused the lawsuit of exploiting his medical condition.
Beyond the Warren allegations, Mavromatis describes a workplace where she was routinely treated differently than her male colleagues. She was told to leave otherwise all-male meetings with Donaldson. She was asked to fetch him a beer before video shoots — something she says she never saw asked of male colleagues — which he would take a single sip of and toss on the ground. A male colleague told her to "shut up" and "stop talking" when she raised a question in a staff meeting.
The Handbook
One of the more striking details in the complaint involves the company's internal handbook. Mavromatis alleges Beast Industries did not have a standard employee handbook but instead used a document called "How to Succeed In MrBeast Production" — one that included language like "It's okay for the boys to be childish," "if talent wants to draw a dick on the white board in the video or do something stupid, let them," and — most alarmingly — "no does not mean no."
The company pushed back hard on this, sharing a screenshot of Mavromatis's signature acknowledging receipt of an employee handbook dated March 27, 2025. Her legal counsel responded that they would be happy to review whatever handbook the company was referencing.
The Complaint and What Followed
Mavromatis says she hit a breaking point in November 2023 and filed a formal complaint with Susan Parishe — Donaldson's mother, who was then head of human resources. An internal investigation found her claims "unsubstantiated." Shortly after she was demoted — a move she calls retaliatory. The company says the demotion claim is "not accurate."
She returned from medical leave in November 2025 after having a child and was terminated, told her role had been eliminated and that she was "too high caliber" for the position. Beast Industries says a restructuring while she was on leave eliminated her role along with others — male and female — as part of a broader organizational change.
"This isn't just about one moment," Mavromatis said in a press release from her legal team. "This is about everything that led up to it and the culture that made it possible. The expectation that women should go through things like this, stay quiet, accept it, and still show up with a smile. I'm not doing that anymore."
This Isn't the First Time
Beast Industries dealt with a significant workplace misconduct investigation in 2024. After a three-month internal probe the company fired between five and ten employees after identifying what a lawyer's letter described as "several isolated instances of workplace harassment and misconduct."
Following that investigation the company brought in new leadership — a new CEO, chief people officer, and general counsel. They implemented mandatory corporate training, developed new policy handbooks, and created an anonymous reporting mechanism.
The lawyer's letter at the time acknowledged the obvious — that Beast Industries had grown "exceedingly quickly from a YouTube start-up comprised of a group of talented young individuals to a much larger entity" and that policies essential at a mature company had lagged behind commercial success.
That was 2024. A new lawsuit with similar themes is now filed in 2026.
Mavromatis's lawsuit is seeking damages. The case is now in federal court. Beast Industries says it has the evidence to prove her claims are false and intends to fight it.
Only time will tell what’s true and what’s not.
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