Kenan Thompson Recalls Nickelodeon’s Lost Profits in Accounting Fraud, ‘From Rags to Riches and Back Again’

The devastating news came as the young actor was trying to buy his first home

Kenan Thompson didn’t have much to claim fame for on Nickelodeon towards the end of his career.

The actor stars in Demi Lovato’s new documentary, Child starThere she talks to another performer (who uses she/they pronouns) about the earliest years of their fame.

Speaking about the beginning of his career, Thompson explained, “That first commercial I got paid for was, like, $800. I was 12 years old, and it might as well have cost a million dollars.”

But landing the role and keeping the job going wasn’t easy. When the two discussed the rejection, Thompson admitted, “I really considered not wanting to play anymore if these are the things I have to go through.”

“It was almost like I was forced to remain humble, so to speak, because when I could have been in my most raucous, ‘everyone knows my name’ kind of years, I didn’t want to be, because I didn’t want people to know that I was struggling. That’s kind of the beautiful enigma, the irony of life.”

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Related: From JoJo Siwa’s Coming Out to Kenan Thompson’s Cheating: Demi Lovato’s Biggest Revelations Child star Documentary

When the topic of finances came up, Thompson recounted how, due to the lack of laws protecting child performers in Florida, where he filmed for Nickelodeon, he was cheated out of a significant portion of his initial earnings.

“My mom met this guy somewhere in the community—whether it was church or a neighborhood club or a book club—who claimed to be a good accountant who could help you solve your tax problems for next to nothing,” she recalls.

“He was basically a fraud and he ran away with my biggest paycheck to date,” Thompson revealed. “When it was discovered, it was at the end of my Nickelodeon career and the end of my working life, and it was devastating because I found out in front of everyone else.”

Thompson explained that he was in the process of buying his first home in Atlanta when he discovered that his accountant was not who he thought he was.

“He didn’t show up with the damn check. I’m in the office with the real estate agents waiting for these papers to be signed and he doesn’t bring the check.”

“It’s crazy to go from rags to riches and back again,” he added. “She’s a mother——.”

Thompson, who is now 46 and a father of two, has since enjoyed success SNL in addition to an extensive acting career in films and television series.

Child star is now available to watch on Hulu.

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