Mario Lopez Reacts to Tiffani Thiessen's 'Saved by the Bell' Residuals Complaint

Mario Lopez reacted to his Saved by the Bell costar Tiffani Thiessen’s comments about her residual checks being in the negative.

After her remarks went viral, Lopez took to his X account and wrote, “Real talk.”

Thiessen spoke openly about how much money she made while she was on Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210.

While playing Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210, she started to make “real money," but playing Kelly Kapowski made her “very little.”

“We made nothing, and we just did our job,” she said in a recent interview, adding she doesn’t get residual checks for her time on the show.

“I think it has dried out,” she said. “It’s like, negative now. It costs more to print the check.”

The entire cast of the hit sitcom, which included Lopez, Thiessen, Lark Voorhies, Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the late Dustin Diamond, and the late Dennis Haskins, all talked about making low salaries while on the show.

In the docuseries Hollywood Demons, it was revealed how much Lopez actually made despite the show’s success. “Mario Lopez said he started out making about $1,500 an episode,” Denise Simon, child star manager, said in the episode.

She continued, “That’s a lot of money to a kid. But after a second season, in 1991, Saved by the Bell was pulling in roughly $15 million in advertising.”

Gosselaar explained they were not equipped to make business "deals" at the time. While on Watch What Happens Live in 2019, the actor, who played Zack Morris, said, “Poor deals, back then. It is what it is. You move on, you learn. Great experience.”

In a 2022 interview, Gosselaar revealed that his residual checks had dwindled to as little as 10 to 13 cents. He also said the cast never received any money from merchandise tied to the show.

“I giggle about it because somebody had to print that on a check,” the actor joked.

The show ran from 1989 to 1993, and it was centered around a group of six friends who attended Bayside High School. Viewers got to see the teenagers deal with peer pressure, substance abuse and more.