Could Lindsay Lohan's Playboy Shoot Mark Her Big Comeback—or Totally Not?

Starlet hasn't worked much, and she's bound to have thousands in legal bills, but it's not a given that Hugh Hefner will be her white knight

By Leslie Gornstein Dec 14, 2011 10:05 PMTags
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How much money did Lindsay get from the Playboy deal after everyone took their cut? How long before she files bankruptcy?
_ David K., via Facebook

You assume that Lohan still has an "everyone," as opposed to "a guy who operates out of the back of his Lincoln," but I forgive you. We're all pulling for Lohan, right? Sure we are. And Playboy shoots can herald comebacks (right, Drew Barrymore)? Anyway, it's not a given that Lohan will soon file for bankruptcy. Here's why ...

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Remember that purse that Lohan recently lost at a fancy Hollywood party? Yeah. That one. Before it went, um, missing, that bag had $10,000 in it. In cash. Now, that doesn't mean that Lohan sleeps on a big mattress stuffed with $100 bills. But it does mean she has easy access to sky-high stacks. (Yes, plenty of rich people file for bankruptcy protection, but if one has $10,000 in one's purse, getting help from a bankruptcy court isn't quite so easy.)

As for how much Lohan got at the end of the day, here's what I can tell you: It depends on how many people were involved in cutting the lucrative deal, which netted her a reported $500,000 to $750,000. (Some reports have said a million. I don't necessarily believe those reports.)

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Let's assume that the deal got a go-over by a lawyer or an agent. Agents typically take 10 percent. If a manager was involved, and a manager usually is, that's another 15 percent. If a business manager is in the mix, that's another 5. If there was an attorney, the percentage could be even higher. And taxes, well, those, in total, could be as high as 50 percent, depending on exactly how big the final paycheck was and if there were other perks involved.

In other words, at the end of the day, Lindsay's paycheck may still be close to a third of a million or so, but whether that's enough to pay for her ongoing legal troubles and living expenses is anyone's guess.