‘The Office’ vet Leslie David Baker returning more than $110,000 to online donors for sidelined Stanley spinoff
Uncle Stan was to center on Stanley’s Florida retirement getting interrupted so he could help his nephew in Los Angeles with his “motorcycle-florist shop,” according to an in-character tease Baker performed on the donation website page in 2021.
However, the project never came to be — despite Kickstarter pledges reaching more than $336,000.
A social media user recently brought the subject up on X, formerly known as Twitter; one post claiming Baker “scammed” his fans got more than 20,000 likes.
On Tuesday, August 1, an Instagram statement appeared on Baker’s page that claimed circumstances “beyond our control” delayed the Uncle Stan project.
“We apologize about the delay in updates,” Baker began the statement with his business partner in the venture, Sardar Khan; both claimed the pandemic lockdowns and then the WGA strike led Uncle Stan to be “on hold indefinitely until an agreement is reached.”
The statement also noted, “After careful consideration, we have decided to refund our backers,” noting rewards that were promised to them, including autographed items and the like, will still be given out.
“In light of the current economic situation, we felt that this was the best course of action,” the statement continued, explaining refunds would be forthcoming “over the following weeks.”
Baker’s statement said the full amount, $110,629.81, would be returned, noting the discrepancy between that and the much higher pledged number.
“A large portion of backers’ pledges were lowered, or completely dropped and never collected once the campaign was completed,” Baker’s statement insisted, saying the money that was raised remained “accounted for and untouched.”
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