MrBeast's new show already faced controversy. Its new giveaway partner may bring more

[December 20, 2024]  By JAMES POLLARD

NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast's ambitious reality show, which the YouTube megastar hopes will expand his giant online reach and turn the corner on recent controversies, is already raising questions from consumer advocates over a partnership with a fintech company.

Prime Video's Thursday premiere of the record-setting “Beast Games" capped off a tumultuous year for Jimmy Donaldson and his production company. Shortly after reaching never-before-seen YouTube subscriber totals, MrBeast began facing heightened scrutiny over past “inappropriate content,” the channel's philanthropic efforts, its workplace culture and allegations of dangerous on-set conditions that Donaldson has denied.

As MrBeast's loyal following tunes in to watch 1,000 contestants compete for $5 million on “Beast Games," they are invited to scan a QR code for a shot at winning their own life-changing money. It's a $4.2 million sweepstakes run by fintech company MoneyLion, an app that sends cash advances — often for a fee to workers living paycheck to paycheck.

The collaboration is billed as a way for MrBeast, who has sought to regain brand trust in recent interviews with alternative media personalities, to give back to his fanbase while presenting them with MoneyLion's personal finance tools. But consumer advocates warn MoneyLion's early payments — which are also promoted to giveaway entrants — operate as payday loans that could trap needy users in earnings-depleting borrowing cycles with additional fees.

Watchdogs find that those services are not recommendable for younger audiences, making it an unusual partner for MrBeast to introduce to his persuadable fandom.

“These types of high-cost, fintech payday loans, wrapped up in fancy apps, just put people in a debt trap where they have to borrow this week’s pay to pay last week’s loan and (it) sets them back in their financial goals,” said Lauren Saunders, a director at the National Consumer Law Center who specializes in small dollar lending.

“Beast Games” marks Donaldson’s crossover into television entertainment. The North Carolina native has already captured online attention spans with his highly-produced, fast-paced YouTube videos that often feature absurd stunts and massive cash sums; "Beat Ronaldo, Win $1,000,000” recently pit professional athletes against amateurs in their respective sports.

He's now testing the broad appeal of those viral spectacles as the host of a competition series that promises “nail-biting, physical, mental, and social challenges” similar to Netflix's fictional survival drama “Squid Game." The $5 million prize is believed to be the largest in reality television history. Donaldson posted recently that he spent $14 million alone “building a city in a field” for the contestants remaining after an initial series of tests. He gave away $2 million alone in the first episode of the 10-part series, which largely consisted of mental trials as he bribed players to eliminate themselves or their entire teams with cash rewards up to a hundred grand.

The sweepstakes was placed prominently during a supersized game of team cup pong in the second episode. A link also appears in the YouTube description from Thursday's upload of the preliminary Beast Games round in Las Vegas.

“For a limited time only, one person watching this right now also has a chance to win $250,000 in the MoneyLion Beast Games Giveaway,” Donaldson said as a QR code and URL flashed across the screen.

MoneyLion's partnership will bring “fans closer to the action than ever before,” according to a company press release. Over 1,000 prizes will be awarded to MoneyLion accountholders across eight drawings over the next year. Additional entries can be earned through daily log-ins on the MoneyLion app, where users are promised exclusive, behind-the-scenes content from the series. Consistent with sweepstakes law, participants must be legal U.S. residents ages 18 or older.

Jimmy Donaldson, the popular YouTube video maker who goes by MrBeast, wears a Lionel Messi jersey as he stands in a sideline box at the start of an MLS soccer match between Inter Miami and CF Montreal, March 10, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Upon entering the giveaway, a popup asks, “Want more ways to get money?” with an invitation to borrow money through MoneyLion's loan services. Consumer watchdogs say cash advancements can come with steep costs despite casting themselves as “no interest" loans.

Users must pay a sliding “turbo” fee to get their “Instacash” advancements “within minutes" instead of waiting the 2-5 days that MoneyLion estimates it would otherwise take to hit an external checking account. The company charges $8.99 for the maximum advance of $100.

That makes MoneyLion one of the “more expensive options in this market,” according to Center for Responsible Lending Senior Policy Counsel Andrew Kushner. Considering the products are geared toward cash-strapped people who need money now, Kushner said most users end up paying the fees.

These apps create a “cycle of borrowing” as financially vulnerable users try to keep up with the “extremely high cost of the loan relative to the size,” according to Kushner. The Center for Responsible Lending found that users of these apps experienced a 56% increase in checking account overdrafts. Borrowers who use these “earned wage access" services withdrew 36 times a year, according to a 2021 California Department of Financial Protection report.

A 2022 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit alleges that MoneyLion misled users to believe they could easily end monthly memberships necessary to access some installment loans but then refused to cancel those with outstanding loans.

A representative for MrBeast declined to comment. In an emailed statement, a MoneyLion spokesperson said the company pairs financial tools and products to support “long-term financial health and stability” — all of which will be promoted to Beast Games Giveaway participants. MoneyLion said it will “continue to collaborate with regulatory bodies” including CFPB, according to the spokesperson, and focus on ensuring its products are “accessible, fair, and designed to create the best outcomes for our customers.”

Its “Instacash” fees are “clearly disclosed,” the spokesperson wrote, and the service helps workers “break the traditional payroll cycle” to “meet unexpected financial obligations.”

“The Beast Games Giveaway is designed exclusively for an 18+ audience and represents a groundbreaking way to combine engaging content with accessible financial education,” the spokesperson said. “Through this collaboration, participants gain exposure to MoneyLion’s diverse marketplace of financial products, tools, and content.”

Saunders, the consumer protection lawyer, said some lenders provide financial wellness tools that are really just “sugarcoating” their high-cost loans.

It's “concerning,” according to Kushner, to advertise such a service toward younger adults who are still developing their sense of financial responsibility and are more susceptible to “the slick marketing of this industry.”

“You can see at 18 (years old) how that could be a really exciting thing to have in front of you,” Kushner said. “But it can really have negative consequences once you go down the pathway of using it.”

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