When it comes to Dave Hester, one of the most recognizable stars of A&E's
hit reality series Storage Wars, there are a lot of descriptions that come to mind immediately.
Brash?
"Yuuup!"
Abrasive?
"Yuuup!"
Entertaining?
"Yuuup!"
A modern-day treasure hunter with an eye for
good finds and a penchant for playing the villain archetype,
the auctioneer became that star fans just loved to hate over the first three seasons of Storage Wars.
But while his trademarked catchphrase…
"Yuuup!"
… and his skill for finding forgotten gold in abandoned storage lockers made
him a household name, Hester wasn't exactly a favorite with the producers who made the show.
How bad was it? Well, in 2012, Hester was fired - and then publicly called out the network,
claiming the show was faking much of the action on the series by planting certain finds
and making up some narrative elements to add to the drama.
According to USA Today, Hester claimed in a lawsuit that he was no longer,
quote, "comfortable participating in this charade." He went on to say that
interviews were faked and that producers would schedule item appraisals sometimes
weeks ahead of time before it appeared on the show. The complaint, which named A&E
and the show's production company, Original Productions, as the Defendants, read in part,
"The truth is that Defendants regularly salt or plant the storage lockers that are the subject
of the auctions portrayed on the Series with valuable or unusual items to create drama and
suspense for the show. Defendants have even gone so far as to stage entire storage units,
and will enlist the cooperation of the owners of the storage facilities to stage entire units."
Wait, reality TV shows faking stuff?!
"Yuuup!"
Hester sued for wrongful termination, asking $750,000 in damages.
He also accused the company of engaging in unfair business practices, according to ABC.
Instead, Hester not only lost the case, but in March, 2013,
a judge ordered him to reimburse A&E and Original Productions a whopping $122,000 in legal fees.
Still, things eventually got smoothed over. In 2014, Hester settled out of court for
an undisclosed amount, and he was even re-hired,
returning to Storage Wars for Season Five after missing one season.
It was just the latest twist in the road for Hester, who reportedly began his career by
purchasing tools and antiques at garage sales and selling the finds at a military base shop
in Orange County. At the start of Storage Wars, he owned two stores in California,
but he has since closed them and instead runs his own auction house now. It seems to have
been a good career move; on the strength of the $25,000 per episode he earned for Storage Wars,
his net worth is estimated to be around $5 million.
Still, money can't buy you everything, and it hasn't been all fun and games for
America's favorite auctioneering blowhard. In a scary turn of events, according to Cheatsheet,
Hester had to be rushed to the hospital in late 2018 after reportedly having a
hemorrhagic stroke while sleeping, the result of high blood pressure and sleep apnea.
Hester was lucky. He spent some time in intensive care, followed by several months in recovery,
relearning basic life tasks, but eventually was able to recover.
Some fans suggest Hester escaped a so-called "Storage Wars curse," as several members of the
show have had illnesses or suffered unfortunate accidents. But… maybe that supposed curse is
just a case of confirmation bias by fans looking for patterns where there aren't any?
"Yuuup!"
Still, we're glad that Hester is back on his feet and up to his old tricks again,
which of course means another lawsuit, and another loss in court - this time
over a $12,000 storage unit he mistakenly offered up for sale
due to a technical glitch. A California appeals court ruled against him in May 2020.
So what's next for Hester? Well, the last episode of Storage Wars aired in January, 2019,
but technically the show has never been officially canceled. Is it likely to return?
According to cast members, the answer is no. But do we still have our fingers crossed that we'll
get to see Hester in action again at some point, even if just so we can hate on him a little more?
Well, there's only one possible answer for that.
"Yup! Yup! Yup! Yup! Yup! Yup!
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