‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ Contestants Are Coming Forward With Allegations Of ‘Cruel’ And ‘Inhumane’ Conditions

Production has only just begun on Squid Game: The Challenge, a new reality series based on the blockbuster Netflix series, and already contestants are coming forward with tales of “inhumane conditions.” The streaming giant had previously refuted claims that contestants were treated for frostbite, but being forced to compete in freezing cold temperatures continues to be a recurring theme.

“It was just the cruelest, meanest thing I’ve ever been through,” an anonymous contestant told Rolling Stone. “We were a human horse race, and they were treating us like horses out in the cold racing and [the race] was fixed.”

According to the contestants coming forward, the production reportedly struggled with turning the Squid Game series into a reality competition that wouldn’t actually put people’s lives in danger like the show:

“All the torment and trauma we experienced wasn’t due to the game or the rigor of the game,” another former player adds. “It was the incompetencies of scale — they bit off more than they could chew.”

Four former players have detailed their experiences to Rolling Stone, confirming earlier reports that contestants were forced to play the show’s “Red Light, Green Light” game in inhumane conditions, spending up to nine hours inside a freezing airport hangar, unable to move for 30-minute stretches, with medics rushing in to tend to people who were unable to take the extreme cold. All requested that their names be withheld, citing their NDAs.

When reached for comment, Rolling Stone reports that Netflix referred to its prior statement when it first denied allegations of frostbite or serious injury. “While it was very cold on set — and participants were prepared for that — any claims of serious injury are untrue.”