Nobody likes getting fired, but celebrities have to deal with the indignity while the
whole world watches, and that's twice as bad.
Well...sometimes.
Other times, they walk away from a job with a wad of cash, often for doing nothing at
all.
Here are a few celebrities who made a fortune getting fired.
Charlie Sheen
As part of Charlie Sheen's public meltdown, he waged war with his then-boss, showrunner
and creator of Two and a Half Men, Chuck Lorre.
Ultimately, Sheen was terminated by CBS in a scathing 11-page letter that stated their
grounds for his removal were "a felony offense involving moral turpitude."
Sheen, who was famously earning $1.8 million per episode at the time, filed a wrongful
termination suit against Lorre and CBS seeking $100 million dollars.
They ended up settling out of court for a rumored $25 million, but that was only the
start.
A TV analyst for Horizon Media told Fox 411 that Sheen still stood to make upwards of
$100 million based on the backend agreement he had, which secured him royalties from syndication
fees as well as "DVD sales and Netflix rentals."
"Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I am on a drug.
It's called Charlie Sheen."
Marlon Wayans
This one may seem hard to believe, but Marlon Wayans was actually cast as Robin in 1992's
Batman Returns.
For better or for worse, it wasn't meant to be.
In an interview with io9, Wayans explained the simple reason he was dropped from the
film:
"There were too many characters.
I was cast, I was paid and everything.
I still get residual checks."
He never specified the amount he was paid, but Wayans seems like he took it in stride.
He even offered his own theory on why the role never fully materialized for him.
Speaking about Robin's eventual debut in Batman Forever, Wayans said:
"...it would be messed up to have Batman and you've got Robin, and his bulge is somewhat
bigger than Batman's.
Batman would have a serious problem with that."
"Do we have a problem."
Billy Bush
The Access Hollywood scandal involving the leaked audio tape of Billy Bush laughing at
Donald Trump's lewd comments sent the television host plummeting from stardom.
Bush had just signed a contract with Today to host the 9 o'clock hour of the popular
morning broadcast, and according to CNN, his contract was worth around $3 million dollars
per year for three years.
Bush was only a few months into it when he was let go.
Rumors immediately surfaced the he was getting a $9 or $10 million dollar payout, which his
rep quickly denied.
Ultimately, the settlement figure was never released, but according to TMZ's sources,
Bush was "happy" with the number.
Conan O'Brien
When Conan O'Brien took the reigns of his dream job, hosting The Tonight Show, he never
imagined it would only last six months.
"Until this last show ends we can pretty much do whatever we want and NBC has to pay for
it."
After a rocky start in the ratings, the network attempted to shift Conan's show to 12:05 AM
to make room again for Leno in his old time slot.
It was the last straw for O'Brien.
"It just got to the point where I thought… think this relationship is gonna be toxic
and maybe we just need to go our separate ways."
O'Brien walked with a $32 million dollar payout, and of course, went on to land a new gig a
TBS.
Though he initially struggled with how the whole thing went down, O'Brien came to terms
with it, saying:
"I'm doing great.
[...] And I don't regret anything.
I do believe and this might be my Catholic upbringing or Irish magical thinking, but
I think things happen for a reason.
I really do."
Ann Curry
In 2012, Ann Curry was fired from Today after only one year in the anchor seat, but she
never completely left NBC News.
In reality, Curry continued to work for the news station for three more years.
She was also given the title of NBC News national and international correspondent and anchor-at-large,
which reportedly came along with a continuing salary of $12 million per year, according
to Page Six.
Curry did finally leave NBC News for good in 2015 to create her own media startup, and
she reportedly negotiated a deal allowing her to "produce content for NBC News and other
platforms and networks."
Hey, it's never fun to lose your job, but that sure beats the way everyone else gets
fired.
"Read.
My.
Fax!"
"Oh, please, no!
I cannot be fired!
I'm fired, ahhhh!"
Bill O'Reilly
After hosting The O'Reilly Factor for 20 years, Bill O'Reilly left his long-held seat at Fox
News in 2017 amidst a wave of harassment claims.
When The New York Times exposed $13 million dollars in out of court settlements paid to
four women, the public pressure to oust the outspoken pundit became too great to ignore.
It was announced that O'Reilly would not be returning to the airwaves, and O'Reilly coasted
out of the scandal with a check most lottery winners only dream of.
According to NBC News, two sources confirmed that his severance check could be as high
as $25 million dollars.
Now, here's O'Reilly himself to play us out.
"What does --- I don't what that means, to play us out.
What does that mean?
To end the show?"
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