David Spade claims Disney 'rat f---ed' him on salary for animated classic

27 Feb 2026 By foxnews

David Spade claimed he had gotten "rat f---ed" by Disney over his salary for the hit classic "The Emperor's New Groove."

Spade, known for his iconic role as Kuzco in the 2000 film, revealed he whad been paid way less than other animated movie stars - joking that Disney had framed the job as "an honor" rather than a lucrative gig.

"I was the last guy to do a Disney movie where they said it was an honor and that's why I didn't get a lot of money," he said on an episode of "Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade." "And then they came out with 'Shrek' and everyone got 5 million bucks. I go, 'Wait, what the f--- is going on?'"

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"He got $18,000," Spade's co-host, Dana Carvey, chimed in. "The movie made 100 billion."

Spade quickly corrected, "No, I got $75,000, which sounds like a lot. It was a lot."

Guest Denis Leary noted the salary wasn't a lot for a cartoon, exclaiming that Disney "ripped you off."

"They rat f---ed me," Spade agreed.

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Spade previously opened up about the long, chaotic process of recording for "Emperor's New Groove." The original movie Spade had signed on to was a version of "The Princess and the Pauper" with Owen Wilson and Carla Gugino.

"I did that for a year and a half," Spade said on his podcast in 2023. "Then some executive saw it, hated it and scrapped it. They kept only the idea of a talking llama."

"It was another year and a half [of recording] ... I got really crabby by the end. We were just making up stuff as we went."

At the time, he used the reported salaries for the stars of "Shrek" to prove his claim he had been low-balled.

"They told me it was 'an honor' to be in a Disney movie. I was the last of the 'honors' - this was right before 'Shrek,' where everyone started getting $20 million deals. The movie did not pay for the house we are recording in."

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Leary revealed during the latest podcast episode that he had asked for big money to create "Ice Age 6," which is reportedly in the works.

"They didn't know this, but I guess they were discovering. The problem is these movies - and it's a plus, not a problem - they're getting streamed like crazy. So now they can see the numbers of what's really streaming. The 'Ice Age' movies, apparently by adults and kids, were getting streamed like crazy."

Leary, who starred in the animated film as Diego, claimed he had been actually working with Ray Romano when he was first approached about doing the sixth installment of the franchise. All three main characters, including John Leguizamo, chose to return to make the film.

"So we did the right thing, which was basically all three of us said, 'Hey, we need to see the script and make sure it's going to be good,'" Leary said.

"We play hard to get, plus we need a lot of money," he added. "So it worked out."