Former company executive details sexual harassment, gender bias, and retaliation at male-dominated social media empire
Former MrBeast executive Lorrayne Mavromatis sued the social media company in federal court today after facing years of sexual harassment and gender bias by top leadership, including Jimmy Donaldson (popularly known as MrBeast). Mavromatis alleges that after complaining about the treatment she and other female employees faced and exercising her right to maternity leave she was ultimately terminated.
Toxic Work Environment for Women
While many equate the number one YouTube channel with extreme pranks, Mavromatis’ complaint exposes an environment in which sexual harassment and hostile treatment of female employees behind the cameras was commonplace. Mavromatis alleges MrBeast’s top leadership frequently made unwelcome comments about her and other female employees’ appearance and brushed off complaints about unwanted advances and touching.
This hostile, male-dominated culture is embodied in “How to Succeed at MrBeast Production,” an employee resource authored by Jimmy Donaldson. The 36-page document states “it’s okay for the boys to be childish” and “if talent wants to draw a dick on the white board, or do something stupid, let them” and instructs employees that “no does not mean no” when working on a production.
Not Allowing This Behavior to Continue is the First Step
“Unfortunately, women’s voices are often silenced in workplaces, especially in male-dominated fields,” said Lorrayne Mavromatis. “This isn’t just about one moment. 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.”
In the complaint, Mavromatis alleges that the company’s former CEO James Warren, a cousin of Donaldson, made her meet him in his home for one-on-one meetings while commenting on how pretty she was and how her presence made Donaldson physically uncomfortable. Mavromatis explains in her complaint that when she asked Warren about how to navigate professional interactions with Donaldson, he said, “Well, Lorrayne, you’re beautiful. Jimmy gets really awkward around beautiful women.” Warren continued by stating, “Let’s just say that when you’re around and he [Donaldson] goes to the restroom, he’s not actually using the restroom.” Mavromatis claims that she began to wear baggy clothes and baseball caps to avoid her appearance and gender from negatively affecting her professional career.
The complaint details other incidents of demeaning treatment towards women at the company. Mavromatis alleges Donaldson, who has publicly stated he doesn’t drink, ordered her to bring him a beer if she wanted him to participate in her video shoot. After retrieving the drink, Donaldson took one swig of the beer and tossed it on the ground.
Complaining About Work Environment Made Conditions Worse
When Mavromatis complained about toxic behavior towards her by a male colleague, she alleges, one executive told her, “What can’t happen is you going to your uppers to complain,” they said. “That’s toxic. My team did that – they’re gone.”
In November 2023, Mavromatis submitted a complaint about the sexual harassment and hostile work conditions she and other women faced working at MrBeast to human resources head Sue Parisher, who is also Donaldson’s mother and Warren’s aunt. The complaint alleges that Mavromatis was told two months later that her claims were “unsubstantiated.” She was demoted from her executive level role and transferred the very same day to a midlevel management position in a division known by employees where “careers go to die.”
“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 Jennifer Mondino, Senior Director of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women’s Law Center, which supported media assistance for this matter. “Lorrayne has been extraordinarily brave in coming forward, and we hope she is granted a measure of justice and healing. We are in a collective fight to address a longstanding culture of harassment that relies on entrenched silence and shame. Today is a reminder that the strength of survivors is a force to be reckoned with, and we are proud to stand alongside Lorrayne.”
Where’s the Consideration for a New Mother and Her Baby?
Mavromatis alleges that when she took maternity leave with her first child her treatment at MrBeast went from bad to worse. Mavromatis alleges that MrBeast failed to give her the legally required notice of her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and proceeded to make her work continuously during her first two months of maternity leave.
Mavromatis states just days after tending to her daughter in the neonatal intensive care unit, her supervisor began requesting her to work for MrBeast’s upcoming product launch. Three weeks after giving birth, she was asked to manage a booth at a town hall event which required long periods of standing, physical work, and being away from her newborn for 10 hours. Mavromatis, who was born in Brazil, was also asked to work on a video with Brazilian soccer star Neymar. Mavromatis alleges that company culture at MrBeast, coupled with a fear of losing her job if she refused to work, compelled her to continue to work during her maternity leave.
Upon returning to work from maternity leave, Mavromatis was fired less than three weeks later. She alleges she was told she was “too high caliber” for the position that they had demoted her to after complaining about sexual harassment and the hostile work environment. MrBeast and its new CEO Jeffrey Hosenbold has since filled Mavromatis’ former job duties with men hailing from the sports industry.
“This is a terrible example of how someone with access to unlimited resources made the decision to neglect the welfare of female employees and their access to the most fundamental legal rights and prioritize money over safety and well-being,” said Mavromatis’s attorney, James Vagnini of Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP. “Ms. Mavromatis was not the first and will not be the last woman to experience what it was like to be sidelined and disregarded by MrBeast, but she will not be intimidated or threatened into standing down.”
The lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina follows a complaint Mavromatis filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in November 2025.
