The Entertainment industry is no joke. Just like other jobs, people may get exploited for their work even here, and even if they’re famous celebs. This is a cutthroat industry and the competition can take a toll on anyone. Some would believe that these actors are being greedy by asking for more money but more often than not they’re just asking what they deserve. Movies and TV shows may not have bottomless budget (even though a lot of them do), but a lot of these actors deserve to be paid for what their acting skills and fame demands.
Hilary Duff’s Lizzie McGuire sequel cancelled
All good things come to an end, as a popular saying goes, and so did the teen comedy Lizzie McGuire. Hilary Duff starred as the titular character in this show for three years on Disney Channel, which was a huge hit among the teens. McGuire was an icon to say the least, and when this show came to an end, many hearts were broken. After the success of The Lizzie McGuire Movie, a sequel was in plan until mother said no. Hilary Duff’s mother and manager, Susan Duff, informed Entertainment Weekly that the sequel got cancelled because of money problems.
A $500,000 bonus was allegedly offered for the second film if the first surpassed $50 million. The bonus was an increase from the $100,000 Disney originally offered, and Duff could’ve had it all, but her mother wanted the bonus immediately. Instead, Disney walked away from the deal entirely, effectively ending the Lizzie McGuire franchise.
Terrance Howard Pushed Out From Iron Man
Even though Terrance Howard made more than Robert Downey Jr. in the first Iron Man movie, he was allegedly sidelined for the next one. For the Marvel fans, he was James “Rhodey” Rhodes first, later replaced by Don Cheadle.
Apparently it was because the studio borrowed from Terrence to pay Robert that Downey earned so much in subsequent Iron Man films. According to Howard, he was supposed to make $8 million from Iron Man 2. The studio instead revised the contract and offered him only $1 million, intending to pay Downey with the leftover amount. In response to Howard’s pushback, the studio allegedly hired Don Cheadle instead.
Howard wasn’t happy with being booted from the MCU, and he was pretty open about it for a while. He revealed on “Watch What Happens Live” in 2013 that Marvel offered him only one-eighth of what he was owed for “Iron Man 2” and upon reaching out for help from co-star Robert Downey Jr., he was ghosted.
Rob Lowe’s low moment on The West Wing
Rob Lowe played Sam Seaborn the idealistic speech writer working for the Bartlett administration, and also the most handsome government employee in history, on The West Wing. As the show went on, Martin Sheen‘s salary kept rising and Lowe’s stayed the same. Originally Lowe and Sheen were the highest paid stars.
During the fourth season, Sheen made $300,000 per episode, while Lowe continued to make $70,000 per episode and he was the only lead actor in the series whose salary was stagnant and not getting raises. His salary remained the same even after his co-stars’ salaries doubled.
While he was “grateful” to be a part of the show, it was “increasingly clear” that “there was no place for Sam Seaborn” on “The West Wing,” according to a statement Lowe released in July 2002.
Jorja fox and George Eads’ contract dispute on CSI
With its premiere in 2000, CSI quickly became one of the most popular and most imitated shows on television. It was the second-most-watched drama on television at the end of the 2003-2004 TV season, shortly after which original cast members George Eads (Nick Stokes) and Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle) were fired from the franchise-launching series.
Fox and Eads had contracts with CBS, which CBS wished to extend and offered a raise of $20,000 per episode each. Fox and Eads’ failed to show up at the set of CSI in July 2004, and network executives took that as silent protest, a sign that the raise was not enough, which led to them being fired.
According to People, both actors were unhappy with their raise. According to Eads though, he just overslept. “I woke up white as a sheet 3 1/2 hours after I was supposed to be on the set,” he explained. “They think it’s about money, and it’s not, I overslept.” CBS then rehired them two weeks later at their old salaries, canceling the $20,000-per-episode raises.
When Foxworth’s money matter got her fired from Family Matters
There’s still no official word on why Jaimee Foxworth’s character one day went upstairs to get dressed on the show Family Matters and then never came back down, but if rumors are to be believed, it was because of her mother’s demands for more money that her contract didn’t get renewed. With her mother being her manager at that time, it definitely makes sense.
The alleged BET article, which appeared mostly on online forums, claims that Gwynn Fox, Foxworth’s manager and mother, demanded more money and for this reason Foxworth’s contract wasn’t extended. Bickley could have been talking about this when he mentioned “budget considerations,” but it has never been confirmed.
