'Not getting paid anything': Dr Sandra Lee gets candid about her role on 'Dr Pimple Popper'
UPLAND, CALIFORNIA: 'Dr Pimple Popper' has transformed from a YouTube personality catering to a very specific but sizeable audience of popaholics to a household brand in just a few short years. She has become so well-known that Dr Sandra Lee, the dermatologist who goes by the pseudonym, has cleverly used her position to build a business that is now worth millions.
So, how did the lady behind the internet's most gruesome blackhead extractions and lipoma excisions pull it off? Ahead, we take a close look at what should be Dr Lee's primary source of income: her TLC program.
RELATED ARTICLES
What day and time will 'Dr. Pimple Popper' Season 9 release? And everything else you need to know
'Dr Pimple Popper': Dr Sandra Lee recommends her medical-grade comedone extractor to followers
How much money does Dr Sandra Lee earn per episode?
Even though Dr Lee does not seem to be in any financial trouble, devoted viewers of her TLC program might be shocked to learn that she has admitted to earning practically nothing for the part! In fact, she stated in 2018 to Men's Health that she "isn't getting paid anything for the show, really."
The doctor claimed that she feels "so fortunate to have this — that this has been offered to me — and I'm so fortunate that they're making me look good," despite the fact that she doesn't make much money from the program.
While the precise (apparently low) amount Dr Lee earns per episode on the TLC show remains unknown, there are a plethora of other financial measures accessible that create a picture of how she accumulated her wealth.
What are Dr Sandra Lee's other sources of income?
One of her most lucrative income sources appears to be her YouTube account, which has nearly eight million subscribers and over four billion views across all videos. After earning nearly $100,000 per month from YouTube views between 2014 and 2016, the site informed her that her material was not profitable. YouTubers like Lee earn money from video ads, memberships and a percentage of income from premium users.
When Lee's "popaholic" viewers started viewing her videos in their billions, this became a significant income stream for her. Lee could have earned between $15M and $25M from those views, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub's estimates that 1,000 views produce between $3 and $5.
YouTube, on the other hand, forbids users from sharing "graphic or violent content" on its channels and warns that it will be removed. This included "footage or imagery showing bodily fluids, such as blood or vomit, with the intent to shock or disgust viewers."
This is usually used to target damaging content and discourage violence or trauma, but Dr Lee's popping videos appear to fall into this group as well. A graphic obtained by Insider shows a sharp drop in income in 2016, when her team claimed YouTube informed them the videos could not be promoted. However, Lee, who claimed she got strikes on her YouTube account for her posts, claimed her videos were always intended to be instructional.
Then there's her real job: According to salary.com, the typical annual salary for a dermatologist varies from $260,000 to $400,000. Dr Lee also offers merchandise to support her shows, has authored a book and runs a skincare brand.
The debut date for Season 9 of 'Dr Pimple Popper' is currently set for April 5 at 9 pm ET.