How Much Do Celebs Make on 'Dancing With the Stars'?

By Rob Shuter Posted May 4th 2011 10:01PM

'Dancing With the Stars' is one of the more profitable shows on TV, making hundreds of millions each season through ad revenue, but, how much of that bounty is going to the celebrity contestants?

"When you sign up, every contestant gets $150,000 for 6 weeks rehearsals and the first two shows," an insider with knowledge of the arrangement tells me. "Then every week you survive you make an extra $10,000 then $20,000 then $30,000 and so on, so the winner takes home $350,000."

Which sounds like a huge amount of money, but not to one past contestant, who complained to me this week about 12-hour work days and "ridiculous" amounts of "stress and strain" on the body.

"The show doesn't pay for massages or anything else," the former contestant, who is not part of the current cast, alleges. "The amount of physical stress and strain they put your body through, rehearsing six days a week, eight hours a day, is ridiculous."

My source said "I have never worked so hard in my life" and described one particularly busy performance day: "Our call time was 6:00 AM and we were rehearsing with the band by 8 and then live on the dance floor that evening. That's a 12-hour day."

And although I agree it doesn't feel right that the cast of 'The Jersey Shore' earn far more than Kirstie Alley and crew, I say welcome to the real world, where we pay for own massages too!

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Tags: Dancing With the Stars

Comments

(87)

Thursday 05 May

By fergy44

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Oh Boo Hoo, this article isn't taking into account the future offers and jobs the contestants get...

By Plants For You

Well it's not alot on money except MOST of the "Stars" are has been stars and this is the best GIG they've had in years... The profesional Football/skating/etc folks are used to the grind.

By bounce59

I say Damn the poor this money is being spend for a good reason? The dancing bear's

By Lori

What's up with the names Mariah and Nick Cannon picked out...Moroccan and Monroe! Don't they know that they will get bullied with names like that...what'samatta with these celebs
with the weird names.

By old-wolf

Wow that Pink dress really does make Kristie look like Miss Piggy.
I wonder if it made her crave roast beef and go wee wee wee all the way home ? I wonder is she had her little hooves painted to match? Here piggy,piggy,piggy, I mean Kristie Kristie, Kristie soooo weeeee sooo wee soo wee soo wee!

By ritzo

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so cry me a river. Most of you are washed up actors or singers. You get an extra 150K and you cry cause you have to work a 12 hour day. What a bunch of pussers

By Adeline

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I can not believe Kirstie Alley is still on DWTS..and Kendra was let go...what craziness. So its plain to see...the show is "rigged"

By Mary

The stars on the show are usually people who have seen their careers stalled and just being on the show reopens opportunities for a revival of their careers. So, that is worth more than any money they make on the show.

Friday 06 May

By wtf

I DON'T KNOW, HOW MUCH DO THEY PAY YOU..............

By Vicki Olson

That show bores the hell out of me. The stars that go on the show have already had their 15 minutes of fame and probably need to money to keep their electric on. I have never heard of half of them. I guess they will start having Dancing with the Soap Opera Stars soon. They are all being canceled. lol Poor stars working their butts off for just 100,000 makes me sad. NOT

By Lora

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Why do people think it's o.k. to be so unkind ?

By john

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350,000 cheeseburgers

By DAN

WELL CRY ME A RIVER MOST PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THAT KIND OF MONEY . HERE IS THE DEAL IF IT IS SO MUCH WORK FOR THAT LIND OF MONEY THEN QUIT YOU BUNCH OF CRY BABYS SO GROW UP !

By Kiss my S

Why are you talking about your mother that way?

By lee

hell i would take on that show any day i would work that many days and hrs for that kind of money

By Patricia

Why can't they just do this for fun and enjoy it. With things so bad in the world, this is a sin to get so much money. I will never watch the show again. It is pure greed.

By jsumnersum

That's pretty sickening!!

By Sy

You are truely the lowest form of trash there is! Nothing else need be said!

By VimalaNowlis

That's why so many stiff robots sign up for the show to make a fool of themselves. Money, the one true God that everyone worships!

By danny

The amount they make is nothing to sneeze at. A 12 hour day is not that big a deal to someone who actually works for a living. I make a helluva lot less per year than they make for the season. And which Dancing "weenie" whined about all of this crap? Most of the "Stars" that appear on this show are either has-beens or reality stars with a short lease on popularity anyway so they should be happy just to get face time and a furtherence of thier 15 minutes of Fame.

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