Former MrBeast staffer accuses his company of sexism and parental leave violations

A woman who used to work for popular YouTube star MrBeast is suing his company over allegations that she experienced sexual harassment during her employment and was wrongfully terminated following her return from parental leave.

Lorrayne Mavromatis filed a federal suit in the Eastern District of North Carolina on Wednesday against Mr. Beast Youtube LLC and Gamechanger 24/7, which are both owned by the content creator, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson. She’s seeking unspecified monetary damages, to be determined by a jury.

In the suit, Mavromatis is described as a rising star who was promoted twice between 2022 and 2024 before a sexual harassment complaint and pregnancy resulted in alleged retaliation in the form of a demotion and eventual termination in November.

“I really want to use my voice to bring awareness … we’re in 2026 and things like this are still happening.

-Former mrbeast staffer Lorrayne Mavromatis in an interview with nbc news

When asked by NBC News why she decided to take legal action, Mavromatis said, “I think that, most importantly, I became a mother.”

“I have a daughter now, and I do not want to be silenced anymore,” she said in an interview after the suit was filed. “I really want to use my voice to bring awareness … we’re in 2026 and things like this are still happening.”

A company spokesperson told NBC News on Wednesday that the suit is based on “deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements.”

“There is extensive evidence — including Slack and WhatsApp messages, company documents, and witness testimony — that unequivocally refutes her claims,” the spokesperson said. “We will not submit to opportunistic lawyers looking to manufacture a payday from us.”

The spokesperson said Mavromatis was not fired, and that her role was eliminated alongside others amid a company-wide restructuring.

Donaldson, 27, rose to fame as the biggest YouTuber in the world through his unique videos featuring big stunts and even bigger giveaways on his channel, where he has 479 million subscribers. But his rapid ascent has also often been shadowed by controversy — and, at times, legal challenges.

In 2024, a third-party legal probe into MrBeast LLC found that allegations of sexual misconduct directed at the top YouTube creator’s company were baseless. That same year, Donaldson was sued by some contestants from season one of his Amazon Prime show “Beast Games” who accused the production company and Amazon of unsafe working conditions. (Donaldson has said the allegations about set conditions were “blown out of proportion”). Season two of the show debuted in January.

Mavromatis was hired by Mr. Beast in 2022 as head of Instagram, but was promoted multiple times until she became the chief operation officer for the “Verticals division,” which included managing a team of 20 people, according to the suit.

The suit describes the company’s work environment as a “boys club” which included a policy that it was “okay for the boys to be childish.”

Female employees were allegedly excluded from all-male meetings, subjected to demeaning behavior in front of colleagues, and unwelcome comments about their appearances. Mavromatis asked her supervisor to intervene with a “wealthy client” who made romantic overtures to her to the point where male colleagues falsely claimed she was “sexually involved with the client,” the suit said.

Mavromatis’ supervisor was former CEO James Warren, who is Donaldson’s cousin, according to the suit. Her complaint was allegedly dismissed by Warren, who said she should be honored that a billionaire was hitting on her.

Warren is not listed as a defendant in the suite. It’s unclear when he left the company, but Jeffrey Housenbold has been its CEO and president since 2024, according to LinkedIn. NBC News called a number listed for Warren but was unable to get through.

Mavromatis felt that it was clear the sexually inappropriate comments were acceptable to the company and that “complaining could adversely affect her employment,” the suit said.

When Mavromatis asked why Donaldson would not meet with her regarding specific projects, Warren informed her that Donaldson “gets really awkward around beautiful women,” the suit said.

“Let’s just say that when you’re around and he goes to the restroom, he’s not actually using the restroom,” the supervisor allegedly told her, according to the suit.

The company spokesperson singled out this allegation as “ridiculous” and accused Mavromatis of exploiting Donaldson’s chronic inflammatory bowel disease in the suit.

“This is an allegation fabricated for the sole purpose of sparking headlines,” the spokesperson said.

Human resources at the company during this time was run by Donaldson’s mother, Susan Parisher, according to the lawsuit. There was not a process in place at the company to make a complaint involving “sensitive matters” to a third-party or to make an anonymous report, the suit said.

Mavromatis allegedly had to submit her complaint of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment which involved Parisher’s own son and nephew directly to Parisher.

She was told that her complaint would be “thoroughly investigated” and was later informed her claims were unsubstantiated, according to the suit. She was allegedly demoted to a social media manager for merchandise in January 2024.

“Plaintiff went from her Verticals position, developing and directing creative initiatives for MrBeast, managing a team of employees, responsible for a production budget of approximately $500,000.00 per month with a private office at headquarters—to an isolated, middle-manager position in the struggling and unpopular Merchandise division, with no direct reports, and a minimal budget,” the suit said.

The following year in January 2025, Mavromatis informed the company that she was pregnant and would need to take leave, the suit said. There was not a standard company practice of providing employees information about their rights under the Family Medical Leave Act at the time, the suit said, and Mavromatis was allegedly not given a notice of her rights and responsibilities.

A copy of the handbook, dated March 2025 and shared with NBC News, includes details on FMLA and parental leave. The last page of the document shared with NBC News appears to include a signature from Mavromatis that acknowledges her receipt of the handbook on March 27, 2025.

A correspondence purportedly from Mavromatis obtained by NBC News appears to show Mavromatis expressing a willingness to travel to Brazil. She wrote that she felt it would be “extremely valuable” to have a Brazilian citizen on the ground to help the team. Mavromatis is Brazilian.

“How would the logistics work though? Would there be a seat available on the jet for me?” the message seen by NBC News said.

Mavromatis gave birth on March 31, 2025, which was described in the suit as a “difficult experience” that required her child to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. Despite this, Mavromatis was asked to work on an upcoming product launch that had her working “continuously during the month of April,” the suit said.

In May 2025, Mavromatis was also allegedly contacted by a producer to work on a video involving Brazilian soccer star, Neymar. The suit said that she worked on the project including travel to Brazil for the video shoot.

The suit alleges that Mavromatis was not informed of her rights under FMLA and Mavromatis did substantial work during an 8-week period following the birth of her child. Mavromatis allegedly feared retaliation if she refused to work during her leave.

In her interview with NBC News, Mavromatis stood by the suit and said she “was never told about FMLA” and said does “not recall” signing any documents.

When pressed about her exchange about going to Brazil, Mavromatis acknowledged sending that message, but said she felt she “had to be there” for fear of losing her job.

“I didn’t have a choice,” she said.

Mavromatis was terminated in November 2025, less than three weeks after returning from her pregnancy-related leave, the suit said.

She was allegedly told she was “too high caliber” for the social media role and was not offered another position with the company.

“I had so much respect [for MrBeast] and I never wanted to see or second guess that I was there for the wrong reasons,” she told NBC News. “I totally stepped down and stepped away from my own platforms because I never wanted to use his name for my own benefit.”

Donaldson appeared onstage for an interview at the TIME100 Summit in New York City on Wednesday, during which he was asked if there are “things he’d like to change” about the company culture.

“That’s always something that people talk about,” he said. “I started this business when I was 11…it’s obviously evolved over the lifetime of the company … now we’re at over 750 employees.”

“I brought in more experienced people,” he said, including a “new C-Suite.”

“It’s been amazing to have people who have actually worked and ran and built large teams, like, point out things where I’m like, ‘oh, that makes sense. That’s why I hired you.’”

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