Storage Wars cast member Dan Dotson allegedly hatched a plan to sue A&E for more money and shut down the show if his demands weren’t met.
The embattled show, which has been rocked by revelations that items are planted and a lawsuit from Dave Hester, is now facing another scandal.
Dotson, the show’s main auctioneer, discussed a plan to demand more money, sue the network and even have most of the cast walk out … on video.
“I really believe that unity is going to be really, really strong. And I can see it’s us all locking arms and telling A&E ‘F*ck off,” he can be heard saying.
He tries to rally his co-stars, saying, “We’re not going to show up. You think you can make us show up? You’re not going to get anything out of us.”
“I want to know that everybody’s f**kig elbow to elbow,” Dan Dotson goes on, discussing his plan for the cast to negotiate for more money together.
“I just don’t think they’re going to want to write all these big advertising checks back to people because they’re not going to have a f**king show.”
“Or if they do have a show, watching the ratings go down.”
Dotson also says he wants a piece of the profits of the show’s spinoffs, with A&E now planning Storage Wars franchises in New York, Texas and Florida.
“Here we all are, we made the f**king show and now they’ve copied it, we want part of it,” he says. “We’re going to sue you guys for [whatever] they come out with.”
“And you can stop this lawsuit but you’re going to have to give us this much money and you’re going to have to make us partners. That’s the only way.”
“If we are being represented by the right people and we’ve got the right information and everybody feels strong, then we stand up to A&E we say ‘f**k you’ about it.”
The show is finishing its fourth season; this talk took place before it began. Dan and his wife Laura Dotson were left out of some extra Season 4 episodes.
Publicly the cast has remained positive toward A&E but privately, as the tape reveals, there has been a feeling of exploitation and plans to get more money.