Lorrayne Mavromatis Sues MrBeast Over Sexual Harassment, FMLA Violations After Maternity Leave

A former senior executive at MrBeast’s media company, Lorrayne Mavromatis, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging years of sexual harassment, gender bias, and wrongful termination, according to multiple reports.

“MrBeast's company sued over alleged sexual harassment, wrongful termination A spokesperson for MrBeast’s company has denied the allegations”

ABC News

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, with USA TODAY stating she filed on April 22 and HR Dive describing the case as filed in that same federal court.

ABC News

The lawsuit accuses MrBeastYouTube, LLC and GameChanger 24/7, LLC of violating the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and of firing her shortly after she returned from maternity leave, HR Dive and AP News both report.

Fortune and The Hollywood Reporter both describe the plaintiff as Lorrayne Mavromatis, hired in 2022 as head of Instagram and later promoted, while ABC News and The Times of India describe her as a Brazilian-born content creator and a senior employee at Beast Industries.

The Times of India says she worked for MrBeast from August 22, 2022, until November 6, 2025, and it also says she was promoted to head of creative in 2023 and reached the Chief Operating Officer role for the Verticals division.

HR Dive adds that she earned US$250,000, oversaw about 20 employees, and managed a monthly budget of roughly US$500,000, while The Hollywood Reporter similarly says she was paid $250,000 for managing MrBeast’s verticals division.

In the lawsuit, Mavromatis alleges she was fired less than three weeks after returning from maternity leave, and AP News quotes her saying, “I was still bleeding, and I just had to show up,” describing the period after her baby’s birth.

The lawsuit’s allegations center on what Mavromatis describes as a “boys’ club” workplace culture that ignored sexual harassment complaints and then retaliated after she raised them.

HR Dive reports that the complaint says the company operated “like a start‑up” without standard employment policies and circulated a document titled “How to Succeed In MrBeast Production,” including sections such as “It’s okay for the boys to be childish” and “No Does Not Mean No.”

AP News

The Times of India describes a workplace culture where “harassment of women employees was normalised, and complaints were dismissed,” and it says Mavromatis described a hostile environment in which she was told to meet the then-CEO James Warren at his home in a “poorly lit” room rather than the company office.

According to the Times of India, Warren allegedly made inappropriate comments about her appearance, and it adds that Mavromatis began wearing loose-fitting clothes after the episodes so her looks would not negatively impact her employment.

HR Dive and Fortune both describe the complaint’s account of how Mavromatis was told to work during maternity leave and feared retaliation if she refused, with HR Dive quoting the complaint that she “knew if she did not continue to grind and get work done, as asked by MrBeast managers and expected by MrBeast, she would not have a job to return to after her leave.”

Fortune and The Hollywood Reporter both describe the alleged FMLA-related failures, with Fortune saying MrBeast did not have a parental leave policy and did not inform Mavromatis of her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Multiple outlets also describe the alleged demotion and transfer to a role known internally as where “careers go to die,” including the Times of India and USA TODAY.

Several reports lay out a timeline in which Mavromatis says she informed her supervisor she was pregnant, gave birth, and was then asked to work during protected leave before being terminated shortly after returning.

“No stranger to courtrooms or handing out cash, MrBeast isn’t playing games in decrying claims made in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed Wednesday by a former member of his company’s social media team”

Deadline

HR Dive says that in January 2025, Mavromatis informed her supervisor she was pregnant and would need maternity leave, and it asserts that MrBeast did not provide legally required FMLA notices detailing her rights and eligibility.

HR Dive then reports that after giving birth on 31 March, 2025, and while her baby was in the neonatal intensive care unit, Mavromatis says she was repeatedly asked to work during what should have been protected leave.

HR Dive describes her working on a merchandise launch throughout April, managing a physically demanding company event just three weeks after childbirth, and later travelling to Brazil for a video shoot.

The same outlet says she alleges she “feared retaliation” if she refused, citing internal handbook directions to “get the job done at any personal cost” and to “pull all nighters,” and it says she even joined a work call from the labour and delivery room.

Fortune similarly says the lawsuit alleges MrBeast required her to perform “substantial and continuous work” over the eight-week period following the birth of her child and that she feared retaliation if she did not work during her FMLA-mandated leave.

AP News adds that Mavromatis worked “nonstop” following her baby’s birth as well as while in the delivery room, and it quotes her again: “I was still bleeding, and I just had to show up.”

Beast Industries and its representatives deny the allegations and characterize the lawsuit as a bid for money, while also pointing to internal communications and other materials.

USA TODAY reports that Beast Industries told the Associated Press that Mavromatis’ lawsuit is a “clout-chasing complaint” built on “deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements,” and it says the company claims it has extensive evidence including Slack and WhatsApp messages, company documents, and witness testimony.

Fortune

ABC News similarly quotes a spokesperson denying the allegations and saying, “This clout-chasing complaint is built on deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements, and we have the receipts to prove it.”

The Hollywood Reporter quotes the company’s statement that the allegation was “fabricated for the sole purpose of sparking headlines” and for “a multimillion dollar payday,” and it also says the company’s statement asserted there is “extensive evidence — including Slack and WhatsApp messages, company documents, and witness testimony — that unequivocally refutes her claims.”

Los Angeles Times and Deadline both quote the company’s spokesperson Gaude Paez, with Deadline saying Paez stated, “This clout-chasing complaint is built on deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements, and we have the receipts to prove it.”

In addition to denying the harassment claims, the company disputes the FMLA-related narrative by pointing to a handbook receipt and by describing a reorganization as the reason for termination.

AP News reports that the company shared a March 31, 2025 exchange on Slack in which a coworker told Mavromatis that she “shouldn’t even be checking” her messages after she wrote she was “actually in labor at the hospital as we speak.”

The lawsuit seeks specific remedies and also situates the case within a broader pattern of legal and workplace controversies around MrBeast’s business.

“Dive Brief: - A former employee has alleged that MrBeastYouTube, LLC and GameChanger 24/7, LLC — collectively referred to as MrBeast — harassed her due to her gender and fired her three weeks after she returned from maternity leave”

HR Dive

USA TODAY says Mavromatis is requesting the court order Beast Industries to pay back pay for lost wages and benefits and to reinstate her to her former position as chief operating officer for the company’s Verticals division or an equivalent role, according to the lawsuit.

HR Dive

The Hollywood Reporter and ABC News both describe the complaint as alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act, wrongful discharge, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, with ABC News also stating the lawsuit accuses Donaldson’s companies of a violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, wrongful termination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Deadline describes the lawsuit as seeking “a declaratory judgment that Defendants violated” the Family and Medical Leave Act during and in the aftermath of the birth of her first child, and it also says the plaintiff wants a jury trial in North Carolina federal court.

HR Dive adds that the employee handbook came under scrutiny, with the court document alleging that the handbook said, “It’s okay for the boys to be childish” and that if talent wanted to draw something vulgar “on the white board in the video or do something stupid, let them.”

HR Dive also places the lawsuit in a wider context by referencing other allegations involving “The Beast Games,” including a September 2024 class-action lawsuit by five unnamed contestants alleging “dangerous conditions” and sexual harassment.

AP News similarly describes how the lawsuit raises “disturbing allegations about the culture behind YouTube’s most popular creator” as new company leaders seek to rapidly expand the media empire founded by Jimmy Donaldson, and it notes that Beast Industries fired several employees following a third-party investigation that identified “isolated instances” of workplace harassment and misconduct.