Amazon’s big bet on one of YouTube’s most popular – and increasingly controversial – personalities is here.

Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson’s reality series “Beast Games” premieres Thursday on Amazon Prime, months after several contestants claimed they faced poor working conditions on set.

In March, Amazon Prime Video greenlit the reality competition show, promising a $5 million reward, the largest cash prize in television history. Donaldson, YouTube’s top creator with more than 337 million subscribers, was reportedly paid $100 million and given what he called full creative control. Casting and filming for the show reportedly began this summer, with contestants performing physical tasks similar to the challenges staged on Donaldson’s YouTube channel.

But Amazon’s investment in Donaldson — as well as the initial hype surrounding the show’s announcement — has been eclipsed in recent months as Donaldson has faced the most intense scrutiny of his career.

Donaldson, 26, is one of the Internet’s most famous creators. He has built a multimillion-dollar company that employs hundreds of people in North Carolina and releases videos of competitions and stunts that regularly attract tens of millions of views. His most viewed video on YouTube is his reenactment of the Netflix show “Squid Game,” in which contestants had to face elimination challenges similar to those on the show (minus the death element) to win the $456,000 prize.

While some of his challenges drew attention, he was largely able to avert public fallout — until The New York Times reported in August that some contestants said they had sustained injuries and lacked adequate access to food and medical care while doing the show filmed in Las Vegas.

A spokesperson for Donaldson said at the time that filming was “unfortunately complicated” by a number of factors, including “extreme weather and other unexpected logistical and communications issues.” The spokesperson added that “virtually all” participants invited to the upcoming filming in Toronto were “enthusiastically accepted.”

Around the same time, online commenters accused former longtime MrBeast channel contributor Ava Kris Tyson of “grooming.” Tyson denied the allegations and announced her departure from the network in July. A third-party legal investigation commissioned by Donaldson found that allegations of sexual misconduct against his company were unfounded.

Concerns about safety on set followed “Beast Games” after production continued in Toronto. And in September, a handful of candidates in California filed a lawsuit alleging they were “shamefully exploited” and subjected to “inappropriate, unsafe” working conditions.

The class action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court names Donaldson’s production company and Amazon Prime as defendants. Representatives for Donaldson and Amazon did not comment on the lawsuit at the time. An attorney for the plaintiffs said in an email Wednesday: “Because this is an ongoing legal matter, attorneys and related parties are not conducting interviews.” Representatives for Amazon and Donaldson declined to comment.

During a recent appearance on “This Past Weekend with Theo Von,” Von asked Donaldson if the issues surrounding his production were “exaggerated.” In response, Donaldson said it was “impossible that there could never be anything negative about such a large production.”

He also responded to an X user who asked if the “Beast Games” show was “the same one where many contestants complained about terrible conditions.”

“We have plenty of behind-the-scenes access when the show is on to show how disproportionate these claims were,” Donaldson wrote on November 25. “I just can’t release it now because it would spoil the games.”

Publicity surrounding the show was relatively muted. Donaldson posted a teaser trailer on social media this month and announced the release date.