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What happened to Steve Banerjee after the events of ‘Welcome to Chippendales?’

Here's what happened to Chippendale's founder, Steve Banerjee.

Somen Steve Banerjee welcome for chippendales
Image via Hulu

Welcome to Chippendales is Disney Plus and Hulu’s newest true crime drama about the famous Chippendales tour group. The series depicts the rise and fall of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the founder of the dance troupe. He founded the Chippendales club after purchasing the failed Destiny II in Los Angeles. Since then, his club became a success and had branches in other parts of the United States.

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But this successful business had a bloody dark side that occurred behind the scenes. And that side of Chippendales’ history will be showcased in this web series. But what happened to Banerjee after those dark events? Was he forgiven for his crimes or was he never forgiven?

What happened to Steve Banerjee after the events of ‘Welcome to Chippendales?’

Image via Hulu

Steve Banerjee was a successful businessman that started the Chippendales club, which eventually became a touring dance troupe. However, his success didn’t go smoothly after he founded his new business. The entrepreneur got involved in shady tactics due to fears of competition. He was eventually arrested in 1994 due to charges of arson, racketeering, and murder for hire.

Banerjee was sentenced to 26 years in prison and lost his shares for Chippendales after his arrest. His wife, Irene attempted to reduce his prison sentence but was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, Banerjee didn’t live a long and fruitful life, nor did he leave prison. On October 1994, he was found dead in his cell due to suicide.

The LA Times reported that Banerjee hung himself in his downtown cell before he started his lengthy prison sentence. It was reported that the businessman had depression but there were no signs of him being suicidal.

“Banerjee, like every other inmate, had been interviewed by a staff psychologist. There was no indication he was suicidal,” 

Welcome to Chippendales is now streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu.