Stephen Bear claims he is on ‘Jobseeker’s Allowance’ and can ‘only pay £10-a-week’ back from sex tape profits
4 March 2024, 19:34 | Updated: 4 March 2024, 19:36
Disgraced reality TV star Stephen Bear said he is claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance as he attended court on Monday.
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Bear, 34, attended Chelmsford Crown Court this morning in a hearing to determine how much money he should pay back after it emerged he gained £22,305.46 profit from a revenge porn video of his ex Georgia Harrison.
Speaking at the confiscation hearing, Bear claimed he could only pay £10-a-week due to his financial situation.
The hearing will also determine whether the money will be paid to the court or Georgia Harrison.
He asked about a “payment plan” speaking in court on Monday.
He said: “All I can afford is £10 a week or something.
"I'm on Job Centre's allowance at the moment."
It comes after Bear previously claimed to be a billionaire in a video he shared online.
Financial Investigator Laura Mackenzie, from Essex Police’s Economic Unit, said of his situation at the time: “He wasn't a billionaire at all, no. His bank account was overdrawn."
Attending the hearing, Bear wore a Mexican Cartel top and clutched a Louis Vuitton bag.
It comes after he was convicted of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
He was sentenced to 21 months behind bars but was released from prison on January 14, having served just over ten months.
He originally made £1,650.98 from the video but this figure increased to £22,305.06 when his subscribers rose by 822 in the month before Georgia was made aware of the clip, a court heard.
In a separate case, Bear, 33, has been ordered to pay Ms Harrison over £200,000 in damages - the highest sum for a case of its kind.
Georgia waved her anonymity to speak out against her reality star ex as she accused him of so-called "revenge porn".
She said she nearly died fighting him for two-and-a-half years and is now planning to sue Bear for destroying her career.
The star explained: “When it first happened, the physical effects on me were just horrific.
"I had acne come up all over my face. I ended up getting a cyst infection — the cyst eventually burst — and I was in hospital from stress.
"They said my kidneys, my pelvis, and multiple organs were infected, and I was going into septic shock."
The 28-year-old said she now has an 'onslaught' of women reaching out to her for help on social media following her high-profile case.
She also called for "massive online platforms" to be required to take down sexually explicit content which had been posted without consent.
