MrBeast named in lawsuit: BBC Learning English from the News

From BBC Learning English,

this is Learning English

from the News - our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme -

World's biggest YouTuber MrBeast facing lawsuit.

Hello, I'm Phil. And I'm Georgie.

In this programme, we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet on our website,

BBCLearningEnglish.com.

So, let's hear more about this story.

MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson,

runs the largest YouTube channel in the world, and

now he's producing a reality show with a $5 million prize together with Amazon.

It's called Beast Games.

Serious allegations have emerged around the conditions for contestants

and Mr. Beast's company has been served with a lawsuit,

and that means a legal demand for compensation.

This lawsuit mentions allegations of exposing people to sexual harassment,

being misleading about the chances of winning,

and restricting access to food and medication.

Yep, and I have a headline here that talks about this lawsuit

and it's from The Indian Express.

MrBeast faces legal challenge: Lawsuit alleges toxic environment on set

And that headline again -

MrBeast faces legal challenge:

Lawsuit alleges toxic environment on set

And that's from The Indian Express.

And this headline is talking about the lawsuit

over the conditions on Beast Games,

that's MrBeast's reality show.

And Phil, we're looking at the word toxic.

Can you tell us more?

Yes, toxic literally means poisonous, but we often use it more generally

to refer to a situation or a relationship that could cause harm.

Yes. This story reports allegations that there was a culture of sexism

and misogyny -

- that's hatred of women - on set.

An environment with this culture would often be described as toxic

because it can cause harm, a bit like a poison.

Yes, we often use toxic to talk about harmful relationships,

whether that's in a family, a romantic relationship, or a workplace.

So an office where people are stressed, they're being bullied

or facing discrimination could be described as a toxic environment

or a toxic workplace.

We've had toxic - likely to cause harm over time.

So as an example, he had such a toxic relationship with his parents

that he had to leave home.

This is Learning English from The News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about the lawsuit filed against

MrBeast by contestants in his Beast Games series.

So this year, MrBeast's YouTube channel became the channel

with the highest number of subscribers on the platform.

It currently has over 317 million followers.

Now, to put that in context,

only three countries in the world have a higher number of inhabitants.

His fame has mainly come through YouTube and social media platforms,

but he's about to go mainstream on TV.

Our next headline is related to that.

Now this one is from Stuff,

it's based in New Zealand

and it says: On the cusp of mainstream stardom, MrBeast is being sued.

So that headline again - On the cusp of mainstream stardom,

MrBeast is being sued.

And that is from Stuff in New Zealand.

Now this headline is about the lawsuit,

but we're looking at the expression on the cusp.

MrBeast is described as being on the cusp of mainstream stardom.

Mainstream stardom means being a star that most people know about,

like if you're on TV or in films.

Now, being on the cusp means being on the edge of or about to change,

and cusp is an old fashioned word that means dividing line,

and we don't usually use it outside of this expression on the cusp.

So someone could be on the cusp of greatness

if they're about to achieve something.

Or you could be on the cusp of an agreement

if you're close to working something out.

Exactly, so the writer of this headline thinks that

MrBeast is about to become the kind of big star that everyone knows.

He's on the cusp of mainstream fame.

So, we had on the cusp of which means on the edge of

For example, developments in AI

mean we could be on the cusp of a bright future.

Or a really scary one.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about allegations made against MrBeast's production company.

Many of the articles about this lawsuit focus on MrBeast's reputation,

with some people referring to him as 'the nicest man on the internet'.

Now, the author of our next headline, which is from an opinion piece,

is not so sure.

So yes, we have this headline from Jezebel, which is an American website:

Shocker: Turns out MrBeast is the worst

OK, let's hear that again. Shocker:

Turns out MrBeast is the worst

And that's from Jezebel.

So this headline is from an opinion piece by a writer who is not surprised

that MrBeast is facing accusations like this.

Now it's got 'shocker' in the headline.

Now, Phil, isn't that usually for something surprising, something

that's a shock?

Well, yes, but here it's being used sarcastically or ironically

when we use a word to mean exactly the opposite of what it means.

Yes, and in speech, we often use exaggerated intonation

to show that we're being sarcastic.

So for example,

Oh, it's raining again in London -

what a shocker!

Now, actually, that's not a shock because it rains a lot in London.

Okay. And there's another use of the word shocker as well.

We can use it to talk about a bad experience that we've had.

So for example, this weekend I had an absolute shocker.

My car broke down,

I lost my keys and then the kids got ill.

It was terrible. It was a shocker of a weekend.

Yep. Phil, that really does sound like a shocker.

We had shocker, which, if you're being sarcastic, means not surprising.

For example: Shocker - she's late for the meeting again.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

And if you're interested in working environments,

why not try our series, Office English?

It's part of the podcast Learning English for Work,

which you can find on any podcast app.

Don't forget you can find us on social media - search for BBC Learning English.

Goodbye for now. Bye.