How Much Did Tonya Harding Get for "Tonya Incident"?
How Much Did Tonya Harding Get for "Tonya Incident&q...
By Fan Arch August 26, 2024 01:24
Tonya Harding became one of the most scandalized names in sports history. Harding was a promising figure skater who had come from nothing to become the United States national champion before the incident that would alter her life forever.
The oldest of five children to a working-class family in Portland, Oregon, Harding began skating at 3. She made an immediate impact, eventually being the first female skater from America to land a triple axel in competition. She competed in the 1991 World Championships and stood second again, having bagged gold at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that year.
But Harding's life changed forever in January of 1994, mere weeks before the Winter Games were set to kick off in Lillehammer, Norway. Following a practice session at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, her chief opponent, Nancy Kerrigan, was assaulted by associates hired by Harding's ex-husband to aggravate Miss Kerrigan into submission.
As the investigation proceeded, it was discovered that Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and her bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, had been behind a plan to hire the assailant. Harding at first denied involvement but pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the attack last week. This resulted in her being stripped of the 1994 U.S. Championship title and a lifetime ban from competition by the US Figure Skating Association.
Post-Financial Deals and Media Appearances
The scandal's aftermath landed Tonya Harding right in the middle of an American media firestorm. Though the infamous incident effectively ended her professional skating days, it also opened the door to alternate avenues of monetary reward.
Television interviews and appearances were one of the major ways that Harding leveraged her new notoriety. The major networks and talk shows were thirsty for the chance to get her on camera, offering bags of cash to hear her harrowing tale.
Although it's difficult to know the exact numbers from his interview fee, we can guesstimate that Harding must have cleared hundreds of thousands in interviews directly after the scandal came out. Those high-profile interviews on "Inside Edition" and the like were probably worth some real money.
Big Book Deals and Tell All's
The publishing arena was another rich field for Harding. In 2008, she published her autobiography The Tonya Tapes, which offers an account of practically everything related to the events that led up to Kerrigan's attack. Though sales figures for the book and an advance payment were not publicly disclosed, celebrity memoirs like this often command six-figure advances.
Other Reality TV and Entertainment Appearances
Over the years, Harding has used her infamy to make some reality TV appearances. She has also appeared on the shows Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition and Dancing with the Stars. Although we do not know the exact figures these individuals are paid, reality TV is known for compensating scandalous celebrities, potentially up to hundreds of thousands per season.
Immediate Aftermath (1994-1995)
Harding likely earned a tidy sum for media appearances, interviews, and first offers during the year after "the incident." That is a lowball; the true number could be closer to $500,000 or even north of $1 million.
Earnings Over the Long-Term (1995-Present)
Since then, Harding has reportedly made money through guest appearances, her book deal, and reality TV shows. These are not large paydays like before, but a steady income was probably involved. Estimates are around 1-2 million dollars over this period.
The "I, Tonya" Film
Interest in her story was rekindled after the 2017 biopic I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie. Although Harding was not directly involved in the production, we can only imagine she scored a pretty penny for allowing others to tell her story. Life rights deals vary widely depending on industry standards, regional market conditions, and specific story elements. Still, it could be well into six figures for the most high-profile stories like Harding's.
Total Estimate
Considering all these considerations, it's likely a lowball estimate that Tonya Harding has made between $2 - 5 million since the "Tonya" incident and leading up to her post-skating life. Please remember that this is a threshold, and the real number may be more or less.
Leveraging Publicity: Harding Mindset
The fact that Tonya Harding cashed in on her infamy speaks to a deep understanding of public curiosity and media behavior. However, as insidious as Harding's renown has always been, it is fortunate that she even had a kind of fame to commodify.
Maintaining Public Interest
Harding has maintained a public presence through different facets. Whether through interviews now and then, unscripted television appearances, or simply being willing to revisit the 1994 event, she has continued to keep our interest in her story alive, notwithstanding decades after.
Embracing the Villain Role
Harding has made herself a public spectacle in her own right, embracing her unclean history on the lecture/event circuit. However, this potentially polarizing approach has kept her relevant, and she continues to secure media opportunities.
Diversifying Income Streams
She didn't entirely lean on her skating tale as a way to make money. She has tried her luck in different sectors, including celeb boxing, landscape designing, and deck building. The range of these projects has helped her build multiple platforms upon which she already had name recognition.
The willingness to squander at least some of it away on Harding points to the enduring allure of scandal and offers a testament to prospects for cashing in on infamy, no matter how acquired. Nonetheless, underneath the somewhat vulgar façade of financial profit from these events lingers difficult ethical questions and an unresolved debate about whether profiting is appropriate in many respects. Law work explores bodies.
Ultimately, she will inevitably be remembered as a seminal moment in popular culture and Harding as one complicated piece of Americana. The tale of Tonya and Nancy still inspires debate about such issues as competition, class injustice, forgiveness, and perhaps most intriguingly, where a victim becomes an accomplice in the court of public opinion.
SHOP Mystery Signed Memorabilia
-
Mystery Signed Football 8x10 Photo
- Regular price
- $29.99
- Regular price
-
- Sale price
- $29.99
- Unit price
- per
-
Mystery Signed Baseball Jersey
- Regular price
- $69.99
- Regular price
-
- Sale price
- $69.99
- Unit price
- per
-
Mystery Signed Football Jersey
- Regular price
- $69.99
- Regular price
-
- Sale price
- $69.99
- Unit price
- per
-
Mystery Signed Baseball 8x10 Photo
- Regular price
- $29.99
- Regular price
-
- Sale price
- $29.99
- Unit price
- per
LATEST
- NEWS
- |
- ARTICLES
- |
- VIDEOS
FAN ARCH PODCAST NETWORK
