Selena Gomez Was Paid Way More Than Miley Cyrus on Disney Channel
It seems that every few years, the Disney Channel produces the new “it girl” of the generation. These days, it’s Olivia Rodrigo who is having a major moment thanks to her Grammy-winning album, Sour. However, from 2006 to 2012, it was Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez who were arguably the most popular girls on the Disney Channel.
Though Cyrus boasts a famous father, she experienced extreme fame of her own thanks to Hannah Montana. On the show, Cyrus portrayed Miley Stewart, a young teen who leads a secret double life as the wildly popular pop singer, Hannah Montana. The show brought Cyrus millions of fans and allowed her to show off her singing chops. The series also made Disney a pretty penny along the way.
Miley Cyrus admits her ‘Hannah Montana’ castmates made more money than she did
During her tenure on the Disney Channel, Miley did a lot of work in addition to the show. In 2009, she starred in Hannah Montana: The Movie. She also spent time touring and performing in character. But even though Miley was raking in the dough for the mouse house, she was still living a pretty modest lifestyle. In fact, the “Plastic Hearts” singer admitted to Elle that she was actually underpaid for working on the hit TV show.
“I did not grow up spoiled in any way,” Cyrus explained. “I just wanted to be on TV. I mean, at one point—they’ll probably kill me for saying it—I was probably the least paid person on my [Hannah Montana] cast because I didn’t know any better. I was just like, I can be on Disney! Yeah, I want to do it! My name was Miley on my show, but I didn’t own my name—we didn’t think about that. Like, Yeah, you can use my name on your show, sure!”
Selena Gomez made way more than the ‘Like a Prayer’ singer
Not only did Cyrus make less money than her cast, but she also made less money than some of her peers. One peer, in particular, is Cyrus’ good friend, Gomez. Interestingly enough, Gomez had a recurring role on Hannah Montana before landing her own show, Wizards of Waverly Place. And while Wizards of Waverly Place premiered a year and a half after Hannah Montana, Gomez made way more money.
Gomez made $10,000 more per episode than Cyrus. The New York Post reported that Cyrus made $15,000 per episode of Hannah Montana. Meanwhile, Gomez made $25,000 for each episode of Wizards of Waverly Place. And while things such as acting experience and negotiations may have factored into this pay discrepancy, it’s certainly a big gap.
Which Disney Channel alum has the higher net worth in 2022, Gomez or Cyrus?
But which former Disney darling is worth more today? It seems that despite her low pay on the Disney Channel, Cyrus has surpassed her peer in terms of wealth. According to Celebrity Net Worth the Bangerz artist is worth a whopping $160 million. Meanwhile, Celebrity Net Worth reports that the Only Murders in the Building star has a net worth of $95 million. So, clearly, neither one of these women will be hurting for cash in this lifetime.
