He claims that in addition to being paid the large sum, Arnold initially agreed to be cast in I'm A Celeb, in exchange for the network organising a comedy tour of Australia later this year, “where he could play reasonable-sized venues and clean up.”
But after he was the first contestant booted from the show, the comedian allegedly believes Channel 10 have “completely reneged” on their promise.
“He wants the $140,000, but I think it’s also a point of principle, that he feels very, very ripped off by what has happened,” Ford added.
He also acknowledged that Channel 10 “don’t want this amount of money to get out,” as the rest of the cast are only being paid between $50,000 and $80,000.
Ford alleges this will make it harder for the network to negotiate fair contract fees with other overseas celebrities for next year.
“They’ll know what the ballpark figure is,” he said.
However, an official statement released by Network Ten’s General Counsel Stuart Thomas contradicts these claims.
“Network Ten will not discuss the terms of a confidential agreement that was signed by Tom Arnold after legal and PR advice was provided to him, but we can confirm that Ten does not owe him any money under our agreement with him and we have made all payments owing to him," the statement reads.
“Any suggestion that Ten has not acted in good faith is unfounded and misleading. Tom Arnold’s only agreement with Ten was for his appearance in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!.”
“Ten understands that Tom Arnold’s agent and lawyer were exploring a tour option for him, however, due to his performance in the jungle, the tour operator declined to proceed with the tour.”
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