MrBeast
Former Staffer Sues for Wrongful Termination
… Claims Sexist Culture
Published
MrBeast enabled a sexist culture at his company … this according to a new lawsuit filed by an ex-staffer on Wednesday.
According to court docs obtained by Bloomberg, Lorrayne Mavromatis — who says she was hired by Beast Industries in 2022 — is suing the content creator’s company for wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and more … saying she was let go shortly after returning from maternity leave.
Mavromatis claims the company expected her to work through her parental leave … and even felt pressured to join a call from the delivery room.
The former staffer also alleges in the complaint that she told her manager she was pregnant and needed to go on leave … but claims the company had no parental leave policy and her supervisor never told her about her FLMA rights.
In the complaint, Mavromatis says execs exhibited demeaning treatment toward women … and claims she was “promptly demoted” when she told the head of HR — MrBeast’s mom, Susan Parisher — about the alleged sexual harassment and hostile environment.
Mavromatis claims she was transferred to an “obscure role” where employees allegedly say “careers go to die.”
The filing says Mavromatis was allegedly let go less than 3 weeks after she came back from her leave … being told she was “too high caliber” for the position she was demoted to. She claims she had been with the company for more than 3 years when she was terminated.
Mavromatis claims she was a rising star at the company, getting promoted twice and earning substantial salary raises.
The complaint details the alleged sexist environment, claiming the company was a “boys’ club environment.” She says, despite being one of the few high-level female staffers, she was excluded from important meetings and demeaned in front of colleagues.
In one instance, Mavromatis claims she was told to “shut up” or “stop talking” by a male colleague during a staff meeting … in front of employees she supervised.
Meanwhile, Mavromatis’s lawsuit details that she and other female employees were allegedly subjected to sexual harassment that was “ignored” by their supervisors.
In the complaint, she claims former CEO James Warren would make her meet him one-on-one at his home and comment on how she looked in her clothes.
Mavromatis also alleges Warren blew her off when she complained a male client made “unwanted advances” … supposedly dismissing the encounter “as nothing” and instead saying she should be “honored” that she was getting hit on by a billionaire.
The filing alleges she asked Warren once why MrBeast himself didn’t want to work with her on certain projects … claiming he told her “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.”
A Beast Industries company spokeswoman has fired back about the allegations, calling the complaint “clout-chasing” and “categorically false.”
She says there is “extensive evidence” that refutes Mavromatis’s claims.
A company spokeswomen disputes Mavromatis’s claims of wrongful discharge, saying instead that a new department head restructured the group … ultimately eliminating her position, as well as others held by both men and women.
Lorrayne Mavromatis is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, including lost wages, benefits, reinstatement of her position or front pay for the role, and more.
