Talk about a power play!
We all know that the cast members of Teen Mom get paid for their appearances on MTV’s show. In fact, most of them take home a pretty penny, considering how long they’ve been part of the cast. What you might not realize is that the girls have a good amount of bargaining power now that they have such big followings, and sometimes they use this power to dictate what MTV does!
Jenelle Evans must have known how badly MTV would want footage of her wedding for the show. So she milked it for all it was worth! Here’s how much MTV ended up paying just to have cameras rolling on her big day…
Source: Instagram @j_evans1219
Jenelle’s Negotiations
Source: Instagram @j_evans1219
Anyone who’s planned a wedding knows that they aren’t cheap. From decor to a DJ to feeding everyone you invite, it’s pretty easy to rack up some serious bills for your big day. Luckily, when you’re Jenelle Evans and David Eason, there are ways to make that back.
We all know that MTV doesn’t have the cameras rolling on the cast of Teen Mom without paying them. Over the years, the girls have reportedly gained bigger and bigger paychecks as their fame and value to the network increased. However, that doesn’t mean that MTV has the rights to film whatever they want, and some stars want their weddings to be private.
MTV must have known how many fans would want to see videos of the ceremony on Teen Mom 2, and apparently they were happy to pay a pretty big chunk of change to get Jenelle to agree to it! Even though at first MTV was reluctant, Jenelle was able to make it happen.
“The higher-ups would not pay her extra to shoot the wedding at first,” a source revealed in an interview with The Ashley. “Eventually, after a lot of back-and-forth, MTV and Jenelle agreed that MTV would pay Jenelle and David a ‘location fee’ rather than a flat-out payment to film the wedding.”
How Much Jenelle Made
Source: Instagram @j_evans1219
So how much did Jenelle get from MTV? Apparently, they managed to get away with $15,000 as their “location fee” to allow MTV to film on “The Land.” Of course, MTV wouldn’t be thrilled about people finding out. “MTV certainly would be trying to keep that on the downlow, though,” the source said to The Ashley. “It doesn’t look good when fans see them giving in to the stars’ demands.”
In addition to this, The Ashley reports that Jenelle and David were offered somewhere in the range of another $15,000 by different outlets who wanted to report on the wedding. Even though it’s unclear whether they accepted the offer, The Ashley thinks that David may have accepted the money without telling Jenelle.
Fans React
Source: Instagram @j_evans1219
As for Jenelle, she later tweeted, “Trying to offer us tons of money, you can keep every penny. @OKMagazine @radar_online.” And everyone wanted a piece of the action, including a paparazzi drone! “David was threatening to shoot it down, but they eventually used their [own] drone to chase it away,” the source told The Ashley.
Fans sounded off about Jenelle’s power play on Reddit. “She’s the life blood of her season so I would have done the same thing tbh. Before Amber went to jail she probably could have commanded more money than the other girls too but she was too haute to recognize her power. Now she realizes how important she was back then (she pointed out the show conveniently ended when she went off to jail) but she does not carry the show now like she once did,” wrote user sushiwalrus.
User lucillebluth1213 agreed, “I don’t think that’s a lot compared to how much they make a season and also weighed against how many ratings it will bring MTV. I would have asked for more. It’s definitely going to be the big event next season along with the arrival of baby lo.”
In fact, most didn’t really seem to have any complaints about Jenelle’s decision. “I’m sorry but I think this is fair. MTV is benefiting from higher rating during set episode. Plus, other cast members took the option of not filming their wedding. Sorry but totally fair in my books,” wrote neverendingplot.
“Let’s be real, MTV freaking loves her,” chimed in user twelvedayslate. “I mean, I’m sure they hate her too, but the higher ups loooove the ratings she brings. The producers try so hard to appease her and appear to be on her side because it means Jenelle trusts them, which leads to her showing more of her dramatic life.”
Check out more pictures and pricetags from Jenelle’s wedding here, and read The Ashley’s coverage of this update and Reddit’s reaction.
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