Jeremy Grant from Beast Games is facing major backlash after some of his material in the new Amazon Prime Video series.
Beast Games Episode 4 was the show's first new episode of 2025, continuing the record-breaking efforts of YouTube sensation Mr. Beast's first game show effort. The series gives a never-before-seen 1000 contestants a chance to win a $5 million prize, the most money any game show has ever awarded.
Having 1000 contestants means countless personalities take the spotlight under Mr. Beast's watch, particularly with so much at stake. The latest episode included a whole new kind of drama as well, which has the fandom talking.
Why Fans Don't Like Jeremy from Beast Games
Episode 4 of Amazon Prime Video's Beast Games led to numerous fan complaints about one of the series' contestants, Jeremy Grant (competitor #991). He is one of 148 contestants remaining in the show at the start of the episode.
Jeremy Grant first rose to a level of fame in one of the episode's early challenges, when the remaining 110 contestants were forced to give one person at least 100 coins (given out to each player). That player would then be picked to select four people to move on to the next part of the game, or that chance would be forfeited.
Many viewers felt Grant's tactics were quite manipulative and that he had gained something of a cult following through his time in the series to that point.
In the end, he was selected to pick a group of people to move on with him. Adding to many viewers' anger was that he said he would make a diverse selection of other people only to end up with a team with only one woman on it (a woman who attempted to sabotage the previous game at that).
To add to the drama, many found Grant's rhetoric to be quite preachy, as he pushed his religious beliefs and his faith through his entire victory speech.
Not only were fellow eliminated contestants irritated with his preachings, but viewers felt equally annoyed by what they were hearing, expressing their feelings on X (formerly Twitter).
@MrJonetsu called Grant "actually kinda awful," explaining that Christians similar to Jeremy scare him:
"Jeremy in 'Beast Games' is actually kinda awful. Christians like him weird me out and scared me."
@JoZe3e took their anger a step further, commenting on how angry Jeremy made him and comparing the Beast Games contestant to a "cult leader:"
"Jeremy on 'Beast Games' pisses me off so bad. Dude is acting like a cult leader screaming about religion. Disgusting."
@Baileyherself praised another contestant who called Grant a "false religious leader," finding it had to believe that his decision was driven by his belief in God:
"That girl that called Jeremy a false religious leader in 'Beast Games' ate. Cause I can promise you nothing you have to lie and deceive to get is from God. And I find it highly unlikely God guided him into the decision he eventually made…"
Another aspect of viewers' criticism was the fact that Grant was already a contestant in two other Mr. Beast competitions, "Last to Leave Circle" and "Extreme $500,000 Game of Tag," possibly hinting at practices of favoritism. However, Mr. Beast is known to reuse contestants in his content.
Jeremy's Response to Beast Games Controversy
In the midst of this controversy, Grant responded to the criticism of him in a lengthy YouTube video.
He explained that he "did not have the intentions of being very loud" upon entering the competition, even though he wanted to come out on top. Through his time on the show, he found "a lot of people that were nervous [and] scared," leading to them praying with one another before each game:
"When I came into this game, I did not have the intentions of being very loud. I planned on just kind of coasting through, competing in this game. I’m definitely in it to win it, but it became evident early on in Vegas, as 2,000 people are in the stadium, the adrenaline is flowing, and each competition brings its own chalenges, and I found myself praying before the competitions, and I also found a lot of people that were nervous, scared, just really on edge about these games. The next thing I know, we’re praying together, and the more I did that, the more and more people came to pray together. It wasn’t just to be praying with me, it was to be praying together, seeking the Lord’s comfort, seeking the Lord’s comfort, seeking the Lord’s love. Father God, thank you so much for the ability to be here. I pray that you calm our nerves and give us the ability to compete the best we can, and let your will be done. And that mission was put on my heart, to continue to love people, to share in prayer with people, to not be ashamed to share my faith, my love of Jesus Christ. This is something that I do in my everyday life, and I’m not gonna change for a game show."
Later in the video, he urged fans to "see the difference between perceived reality and reality," noting that he did not put on any kind of a show simply to make good TV. His faith is a part of who he is, and he made it clear he would do the same thing again if given the chance to go back and change anything:
"I hope that you folks can see the difference between perceived reality and reality. Media is meant for entertainment. I’m not mad at the Beast team for the way they edited it. I’m grateful that they showed me and my character. This is who I am. I’m gonna boldly stand up and share Christ. Again, I am not a pastor, I am not a preacher, I am just a man that loves God. And again, you can’t expect to be loved by everybody, and I know that there’s a lot of people that are against Christianity. There’s a lot of people that are calling this fake, that are thinking this is part of my gameplay. I gotta be honest with you, I’m not that smart. I’m not smart enough to try to manipulate this huge persona of someone different. That’s not the way I play, and I’m proud of the way I played, and if I had the chance to go back and do it again, I’d do it the same way. I’d pray about it and do what I felt led to do in a way that is full of integrity."
As for Grant's personal life, he is a filmmaker based out of Maine (via his Timber Cross website), capturing footage for movies ordered by his customers with top-notch cinematography.
He is also a polar bear guard (as seen by multiple posts on his Instagram page). He uses his video skills to film these animals while also keeping them safe, as they are a notable endangered species.
The first four episodes of Beast Games are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
