How are cancelled celebrities earning money now?

We all know cancelled celebrities rarely stay that way and in the age of the internet, they don’t have to avoid the spotlight for long.

Every famous face has their supporters and with the help of brand deals or apps like Cameo, it’s pretty easy to make a living for a disgraced star.

We’ve all pondered Russell Brand’s move to being a Christian mouthpiece on social media, even carrying a bible into court for his sexual abuse case.

Usually, a celeb’s hireability is directly tied to how the public perceives them, so offers dry up quickly when that popularity turns to infamy.

However, getting a less glitzy job in your local coffee shop isn’t always an option either.

From selling timeshares in the Cayman Islands to rebranding as a religious influencer, here’s what some of the most infamous cancelled stars are up to now.

Russell Brand

Brand, 50, is best known for his explicit, raunchy stand-up and penchant for playing slimy characters in films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and St Trinian’s.

His role in the latter has aged like milk after a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary exposed claims of rape, sexual harassment and emotional abuse.

The former comedian has denied all wrongdoing, but in the meantime rebranded himself as a born-again Christian – with a self-help book to back it up.

Now, he is mainly found on YouTube rather than the silver screen, flogging ‘How to become a Christian in 7 Days’ to his dedicated disciples.

His once Labour-friendly channel, which Ed Miliband scrambled to appear on during his 2015 election campaign, now touts anti-vaccine scepticism and pro-Trump rhetoric.

In 2023, when his YouTube was demonetised, Sara McCorquodale, the chief executive of the social media analysis agency CORQ, told The Guardian his channel could be making him £1million per year if he’s posting five videos per week.

‘He is most likely making £2,000 to £4,000 per video, not taking into account any affiliate deals and brand sponsorships that might be running in the background,’ she said.

Fans are also able to subscribe to his ‘awakenings’ for just under £50 per year, which will boost his income alongside background book sales and residuals from previous projects.

Gregg Wallace

Once one half of MasterChef, Gregg Wallace has been shunned from our screens after multiple people accused him of inappropriate behaviour and bullying.

He left the BBC in 2024 and has not secured any mainstream TV work since.

The 61-year-old chef has instead kept busy – and making money – through his social media and the app Cameo, where fans can request a video from their faves.

He’s charging £36 – £40 for a personalised video message, which you can apparently expect within the hour, as well as £342 for any business deals.

Wallace also launched Gregg’s Kitchen, a 12-hour TikTok live cooking show, which went live on Sunday, April 5.

Given his follower count is substantially over the 10k threshold, Wallace is likely making at least some money from the video-sharing platform.

Recently, he announced he was ‘decluttering’ the house, relocating to a place in Yorkshire and spending five months of the year in Italy as they homeschool their son, Sid.

John Leslie

Former Blue Peter and This Morning host John Leslie was accused of rape in 2002, which resulted in him being let go from ITV.

He denied the charges and they were dropped, only for him to then be accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a nightclub in 2017, for which he was acquitted.

Two years later, he was charged again with assault, relating to an alleged incident in 2008, and pleaded not guilty. In 2020, he was acquitted.

In the six years since, he’s kept fairly out of the spotlight but was recently spotted DJing as ‘Johnny Sunset’ in Portugal.

Leslie, 61, was manning the decks in Praia da Luz, a resort unfortunately better known as the place where Madeleine McCann disappeared.

Alongside his Algarve DJ hustle, the former presenter reportedly has a property portfolio in Edinburgh worth over £7.2million.

Kevin Spacey

In 2017, Kevin Spacey was accused by actor Anthony Rapp of making sexual advances when the Rent star was just 14.

This opened the floodgates with more than 30 allegations following, all of which the Usual Suspects actor denied.

He was found not liable for battery charges relating to the Rapp case, as well as being found not guilty of nine sexual assault charges in London.

Now, he’s attempting to make a career comeback, appearing last year at Cannes Film Festival for the first time since the accusations.

Spacey, 66, didn’t appear to be up to much ahead of his return to the spotlight, but did reveal in 2024 his $5.6million home had been foreclosed on.

‘My house is being sold at auction. So I have to go back to Baltimore and put all my things in storage,’ the actor said on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored.

He added he wasn’t ‘quite sure where I’m gonna live now’ and has since said he ‘has no home’.

Spacey’s net worth – according to Celebrity Net Worth – plummeted from an estimated $50million – $70million (£37m – £50m) down to around $100,000 (£74k) after the lawsuits.

According to IMDb, he has five movies upcoming, including The Awakening: the film they don’t want you to see – yes, that’s its real full title.

The independent endeavour sees Spacey as Balthazar as the leads ‘uncover a conspiracy to control the world’.

Former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall also stars as a character called Bear.

Armie Hammer

Much like Spacey, Armie Hammer is attempting to make his comeback to the big screen through low-budget indie films.

It’s been five years since he was accused of raping and abusing one woman, which his lawyers claimed was consensual.

After he split from his wife, Elizabeth Chambers, multiple people claimed he indulged in cannibalistic fantasies as well as BDSM.

Hammer, 39, was never charged, but he stepped away from at least two projects after one ex told Page Six their romance was ‘like dating a wannabe Hannibal Lecter’.

In 2021, he ditched Hollywood for the Cayman Islands, attending a treatment facility for drug and alcohol use – he is now sober.

He then started selling timeshares at a hotel, where he was spotted in uniform by unsuspecting guests.

A source told Variety at the time: ‘The reality is he’s totally broke, and is trying to fill the days and earn money to support his family.’

The Call Me By Your Name actor later confirmed this on the Club Random podcast, saying he had ‘bills’ to pay and would rather get a job than go to his oil tycoon family.

Once worth an estimated $150million thanks to the oil links, Hammer is now thought to have a net worth around $100,000, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

After the timeshares, he attempted to revive his career with The Armie HammerTime Podcast, which has not been active since September.

Hammer also appeared in a few indie films and is set to appear in three upcoming movies, including Night Driver with Margaret Qualley’s sister Rainey.

When directly asked by Louis Theroux if he was a cannibal, Hammer replied: ‘You know what you have to do to actually be a cannibal? You have to actually eat human flesh. So no.’

Michael Barrymore

Michael Barrymore was once one of the UK’s most popular presenters, hosting shows like Barrymore, My Kind of People and Strike It Lucky.

His success in the 90s was brought to an abrupt halt when Stuart Lubbock was found dead in his swimming pool after a party at Barrymore’s Essex home.

Despite the investigation still ongoing, he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, placing second.

The following year, he was arrested, but no charges were brought, with Barrymore later successfully suing the police for a wrongful arrest.

The Lubbock case remains open, with renewed interest after Channel 4 aired the documentary Barrymore: The Body In The Pool in 2020 – 19 years after the death.

Meanwhile, the former presenter, 73, has managed to cultivate an online following and has released a tell-all memoir earlier this year.

Barrymore has now become something of a Gen Z icon, boasting over 4million TikTok followers and recently winning a YouTube award for his vlogs.

He documents his travels and life with his whippet, Lara, as well as sharing to his followers he plans to move to Spain after falling in love with the culture.

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