'Dancing With the Stars' is an incredibly popular television show, and some would argue that just being on the show is worth it to the celebrities that appear on the program. From Lil' Kim to Maya, 'Dancing With the Stars' definitely helps the careers of African American celebs whose star is perhaps a bit tarnished, and who are trying to recover from a decline. But these black celebrities do not appear on 'Dancing With the Stars' for free. Even C-list stars have their price. So how much to Brandy, Rick Fox and Kyle Massey (from Disney sitcom 'That's So Raven') stand to make on 'Dancing With the Stars' this season? To our surprise, it all depends on how long each celebrity is able to last on the show. Gawker.com reports:

It's all based on a sliding scale depending on how well the contestants do. Everyone gets $125,000 for signing up and being on the first two episodes (even the person who gets eliminated first gets that amount as a bit of a consolation prize). Then it's $10,000 each for the next two episodes, $20,000 for each of the two episodes after that, $30,000 each for the two subsequent episodes, and $50,000 for appearing in the final two episodes of the season. That totals $345,000 for those who make it to the very end. Based on this reality TV pyramid scheme, the winner gets nothing more than the other finalists-besides that tacky trophy, of course.


Now, $345,000 may sound like chump change to the writers at Gawker.com, but for an African American star that has spent some time away from the public eye, that's not bad for a few weeks of work. The question is: how many of the black stars will make it to that level?

Previous black celebrities competing on 'Dancing With the Stars' have made it very far, and there has even been one black winner, NFL great Emmitt Smith, back in 2006. At the same time, there has been a lot of controversy over black stars on 'Dancing With the Stars' getting "robbed" -- that is, deserving a lot more points and recognition than the judges and voters have given them. Many believed that there is no way that Maya should not have taken home "that tacky trophy" last season. And many think Lil' Kim was eliminated way too early, which certainly impacted her earnings according to the 'Dancing With the Stars' payment scheme.

Why do black celebrities have such a hard time making it to the end, and therefore making the most moolah, on 'Dancing With the Stars'? And given their African American "handicap" is this payment scenario fair to black contestants, who are often the most entertaining performers?

Of course, nothing is fair in reality TV, especially on shows that incorporate a viewer voting component. Let's just hope that the best dancer wins, regardless of color -- and that the black stars are equally and fairly considered.

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