A former Disney Channel actor went on a social media rant after receiving a $7 (£5) residual cheque – claiming ‘this is why I do OnlyFans’.
Dan Benson became a well-known face on TV when he starred as the dorky Zeke Beakerman on Wizards of Waverly Place. The 36-year-old previously claimed he was “struggling to put food on the table” both during and after his acting job on the hit Disney show.
Despite appearing in 32 episodes of the Emmy-winning show on Disney Channel from 2007 to 2012, his residual income is so minimal that he had to look for other options. Now, he rakes in the cash by making x-rated content online – charging $20 a month to each of his 21,000 subscribers.
READ MORE: ‘I starred in Disney show but now do sex work – men love my foot fetish content’
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But that hasn’t stopped him from talking about the struggle he went through before he quit acting. In a video, which has gained more than 76,000 likes, he went on a rant about his residual income.
He said: “I played the character Zeke Beakerman on Wizards of Waverly Place, and this is a check for $7. This is what residuals look like. So when people ask, why did you go into adult entertainment, that’s why.
“I’ve made it unfathomable amount of money on my own doing adult entertainment. $7 isn’t going to allow me to live even a reasonable life. I was on one of the biggest shows on the Disney Channel for four years and I get cheques for $7. You gotta look out for yourself.”
(Image: danleebenson/Instagram)
However, TikTok users were left divided over his decision as they argue that he could have done something else after the show was over. One user said: “They paid you at the time, no?”
A second commented: “Bros never gonna let this go lmfao.,” as a third added: “After I finish a job I no longer make money from it…” A fourth added: “You could have done like so many other things.”
Meanwhile, others took to the comments to show their support. A user wrote: “7 dollars?! Feels like theft.” Another penned: “Thanks for being real with us!” A third added: “Dude why is Disney so cheap?”
(Image: DISNEY CHANNEL)
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Residuals are payments a writer, actor or director can earn when their work gets reused – but not everyone who works on a movie or TV show gets them. There are many factors that go into how much someone will get from a show, including what someone did on the show.
The character Zeke was in 32 episodes out of 106 episodes and was a secondary character. Any residuals earned by Dan Benson will be a smaller percentage than those in lead roles like Selena Gomez or David Henrie who played Alex and Justin Russo.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
