Turns out being former President Donald Trump is bad for your Hollywood career
It’s at least been quieter, hasn’t it? Even if Donald Trump vacating the White House and our social media feeds certainly doesn’t mean he’s gone away for good, the past week has slowed the exhausting deluge of content from the man. Whether he goes the route of starting his own network or social media platform — or just his own "Office of the Former President" — you can bet that he won’t find as warm of a home in Hollywood again, according to Trump’s 2020 financial disclosure forms.
As The Hollywood Reporter points out, Trump’s income from the entertainment industry plummeted during his failed reelection campaign. The most drastic decline came from Trump’s Apprentice payouts, which exceeded $2 million as recently as 2018 and $1.6 million in 2019. But last year, the series netted him a light $275,000, which THR speculates is connected to a sharp drop in reruns and syndication rights.
This wasn’t the only department where Trump lagged behind his entertainment industry payouts from earlier in the term. Residuals for his Little Rascals cameo fell from $1,000 to $200 year-over-year, to say nothing of the petitions to outright remove his scene in Home Alone 2. All of his books failed to clear $1 million in revenue for the first time since taking office, and The Art of the Deal was the only to pull in meaningful income.
He’s still taking home a hefty pension from SAG and AFTRA, making nearly $85,000 from the former in 2020, but faces expulsion from the guild for his role in inciting the January 6 capitol riot. Even if Trump is expelled from the actors’ guild, THR notes, he’d very likely still be taking home his annual pension.
But again, it’s foolish to ever count this guy out, whose memoir could easily sell millions of copies if a major publisher blinks and signs the deal. The Trump media empire will endure in some fashion for the 74 million people who voted for him — they just might not get to see him pop up in any future kids' movies.
