Squid Game: The Challenge player claims conditions were “torture”

The Squid Game: The Challenge controversy has taken a new twist, as a contestant has come forward to claim multiple players “collapsed” on set, describing conditions as “torture.”

Squid Game: The Challenge has proven to be a worthy spinoff to the Korean Netflix series, bringing the games to life with a competition show in which 456 players battle it out in the hopes of bagging a $4.56 million prize. 

However, since Part 1 of the series dropped last week, producers have been accused of neglecting players’ safety, with some contestants claiming troubling conditions on the set of ‘Red Light, Green Light’ and threatening a lawsuit against Studio Lambert, co-producer of the series.

And now, yet another player who took part in the first game has come forward and added to the growing number of allegations. 

Squid Game: The Challenge player claims people “collapsed” on set

TikTok user @GrandmaGoneWild – who was Player 358 on Squid Game: The Challenge – has shared a number of videos in which she claims contestants were “collapsing left and right,” describing the working conditions as “torture.”

For ‘Red Light, Green Light’ – the first and only game in which all 456 players were present – she alleges that the contestants were made to film continuously for nine hours, without a toilet, food, or water break. 

Although the challenge itself involves players having to reach the finish line without being eliminated in a five-minute timeframe, she explains: “It was a five-minute timer but they stopped it several times to look at film, to let the drone fly overhead… and to rescue people who had collapsed.

“People were collapsing left and right, all over, all during the game, calling for medics. So there were several things that delayed the game, so the timer really wasn’t a timer – it was more like a prop.”

In another clip, which has been viewed more than four million times, she describes the conditions on set as “torture,” adding: “They didn’t prepare us for the way it played out.” 

“It was below freezing,” she continues. “My feet were numb, my hands were blue, constant snot dripping from my nose, just shivering the whole time. I have never been that cold that long my entire life. And everybody was.”

Squid Game: The Challenge contestants threaten lawsuit

Player 358’s allegations arrive shortly after it was revealed that a number of Squid Game: The Challenge contestants sought the legal help of a UK firm, claiming that they “suffered injuries such as hypothermia and nerve damage” while filming the ‘Red Light, Green Light’ game.

Shooting for the first game in the Netflix series took place at Cardington Studios in Bedford, UK, in January. According to UK personal injury law firm Express Solicitors, the players allege that there were “poor health and safety standards on set.” 

As per a statement shared by the British company: “Contestants on Netflix’s new show Squid Game: The Challenge have instructed Daniel Slade, Chief Executive Officer (Legal) at Express Solicitors, to help them seek compensation for injuries they suffered during the show’s filming in January of this year.”

Slade stated that they have “sent letters of claim on behalf of the contestants injured on the show.”

The people behind Squid Game: The Challenge responded to the various allegations about the filming conditions, claiming that they took “all the proper measures.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, producer John Hay stated: “Welfare and safety are obviously paramount for us. And we’ve taken appropriate measures to look after people.

“The particular criticism you’re talking about was centered around the filming of Red Light, Green Light. That was a big, complicated shoot, and it was a cold day, and it took quite a long time.

“But everyone was prepared for that and looked after properly. We anticipated and actually strenuously tested everything in advance and made sure we took all the proper measures.”

For more on the controversy surrounding Squid Game: The Challenge, hit the links below: 

Players allegedly asked to “pretend” to compete
Squid Game: The Challenge player details set conditions
Squid Game: The Challenge producers hit back
Squid Game: The Challenge contestants threaten lawsuit
Squid Game: The Challenge receives audience backlash