1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:03,573 --> 00:00:06,941 -The best entertainment I could possibly imagine. 3 00:00:07,010 --> 00:00:11,847 -None other than psychic tarot card reader Miss Cleo. 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:11,916 --> 00:00:13,682 -Find out what I see for you. 6 00:00:13,751 --> 00:00:15,984 Call me now for a free tarot reading. 7 00:00:16,053 --> 00:00:18,086 -"Call me now." -"Call me now." 8 00:00:18,155 --> 00:00:19,587 -"Call me now." -"Call me now." 9 00:00:19,656 --> 00:00:21,589 -"Call me now." -"Call me now." 10 00:00:21,658 --> 00:00:23,292 -"Call me now." -"Call me now." 11 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,393 -Don't make me take you to church, young man. 12 00:00:25,462 --> 00:00:27,529 -She had such a presence. 13 00:00:27,598 --> 00:00:30,465 -Those commercials were epic and legendary. 14 00:00:30,534 --> 00:00:33,401 -You have questions. I have the answers. 15 00:00:33,470 --> 00:00:36,404 -She did things that no one else would be able to do. 16 00:00:36,473 --> 00:00:39,441 -Oh, my God, I cannot believe how right you are! 17 00:00:39,510 --> 00:00:41,143 -She was so relaxed in it, 18 00:00:41,212 --> 00:00:43,712 so you bought it hook, line, and sinker. 19 00:00:43,781 --> 00:00:45,147 -This is amazing me. 20 00:00:45,215 --> 00:00:47,615 -It's okay. It amazes me every time I do it, too. 21 00:00:47,684 --> 00:00:49,250 -Who's this woman? What is this commercial? 22 00:00:49,319 --> 00:00:50,651 -What country are you from? 23 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,021 What mystical tradition are you working in? 24 00:00:53,090 --> 00:00:55,457 -There is more than one man. -Uh-huh. 25 00:00:55,526 --> 00:00:57,925 -Uh-huh. Uh-huh. -[ Laughs ] 26 00:00:57,994 --> 00:01:00,462 That shit is bomb. -Why does she have an accent? 27 00:01:00,531 --> 00:01:03,564 -Wasn't she arrested for fraud? Didn't she goes to jail? 28 00:01:03,633 --> 00:01:06,401 -Scammers gonna scam. [ Laughs ] 29 00:01:06,470 --> 00:01:09,304 -And everybody had an opinion about who she was, 30 00:01:09,373 --> 00:01:10,938 but they had no idea. 31 00:01:11,007 --> 00:01:13,708 -Her personal identity was a real struggle for her. 32 00:01:13,777 --> 00:01:16,444 -What's really going on here? Who is this person? 33 00:01:16,513 --> 00:01:20,448 Don't be fooled by thinking what you know is the whole story. 34 00:01:20,517 --> 00:01:22,751 -So what's -- what's the real deal? 35 00:01:22,820 --> 00:01:27,956 ♪♪ 36 00:01:28,025 --> 00:01:33,195 ♪♪ 37 00:01:33,264 --> 00:01:35,364 I was 12 years old in 1997 38 00:01:35,433 --> 00:01:37,632 when Miss Cleo first got on the airwaves. 39 00:01:37,701 --> 00:01:40,969 The '90s for me, that is television shows 40 00:01:41,038 --> 00:01:43,338 in the height of sitcoms... 41 00:01:43,407 --> 00:01:45,640 -Monica's gonna totally freak out! 42 00:01:45,709 --> 00:01:49,411 -...just like, really, really warm and inviting. 43 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:51,413 -Have no fear. The Urk man is here. 44 00:01:51,482 --> 00:01:53,215 -But there were so many commercials. 45 00:01:53,284 --> 00:01:54,582 You couldn't skip them. 46 00:01:54,651 --> 00:01:56,584 -Let's play Furby Says. -[ Babbles ] 47 00:01:56,653 --> 00:02:00,087 -Commercials in the '90s were saccharine sweet. 48 00:02:00,156 --> 00:02:03,092 -Commercials and infomercials -- specifically infomercials -- 49 00:02:03,161 --> 00:02:04,825 were on the rise. -BeDazzler -- 50 00:02:04,894 --> 00:02:06,762 the kit that can change your wardrobe 51 00:02:06,831 --> 00:02:07,929 from dull to daring. 52 00:02:07,998 --> 00:02:10,532 -Wrap and snap your hair into the perfect bun. 53 00:02:10,601 --> 00:02:12,734 -Take it to the max with Glow Pens. 54 00:02:12,803 --> 00:02:15,136 -My problem with most exercise programs 55 00:02:15,205 --> 00:02:16,704 is finding time to do them. 56 00:02:16,773 --> 00:02:18,606 -The Internet was in its infancy, 57 00:02:18,675 --> 00:02:21,742 and people used their phones to dial all these hotline. 58 00:02:21,811 --> 00:02:25,613 -A 1-800 or 1-900, you called -- 59 00:02:25,682 --> 00:02:27,915 Now, I never did this, Mom or Dad. 60 00:02:27,984 --> 00:02:30,418 This never happened. I don't know how I know this. 61 00:02:30,487 --> 00:02:33,422 You know what I mean? But you call, 62 00:02:33,491 --> 00:02:38,126 and it's either to talk to somebody, to get information, 63 00:02:38,195 --> 00:02:41,196 and they charged you per minute. 64 00:02:41,265 --> 00:02:43,097 It's all going on your parents' tab. 65 00:02:43,166 --> 00:02:45,700 You don't necessarily know how much you're racking up 66 00:02:45,769 --> 00:02:49,504 because it wasn't like minutes like it is now. 67 00:02:49,573 --> 00:02:51,806 -You now could, at that time, 68 00:02:51,875 --> 00:02:55,143 get information about any industry, 69 00:02:55,212 --> 00:02:57,979 any hobby that you wanted -- sports information... 70 00:02:58,048 --> 00:03:00,881 -Dial 1-900-860-4GAME. 71 00:03:00,950 --> 00:03:03,918 -...jokes. -♪ This is Dial an Insult ♪ 72 00:03:03,987 --> 00:03:06,249 -If you call me right now, I'll give you my private number 73 00:03:06,318 --> 00:03:08,156 -...pick-up line, telling you where to meet girls, 74 00:03:08,225 --> 00:03:10,458 how to meet them, and what to say. 75 00:03:10,527 --> 00:03:12,527 -Psychic hotline was something new. 76 00:03:12,596 --> 00:03:14,796 -Psychic hotlines were huge. 77 00:03:14,865 --> 00:03:17,832 -Psychic Readers Network -- so many good reasons to call. 78 00:03:17,901 --> 00:03:21,203 -Congratulations. You recently got engaged? 79 00:03:21,272 --> 00:03:23,638 -I just got engaged two weeks ago. 80 00:03:23,707 --> 00:03:25,140 -Well, you better hope she doesn't find out 81 00:03:25,209 --> 00:03:27,776 that you spent last Sunday night with your old girlfriend. 82 00:03:27,845 --> 00:03:30,010 [ Dial tone ] -Oh! Ooh! Hello? 83 00:03:30,079 --> 00:03:33,615 -They could be your soothsayer and your therapist. 84 00:03:33,684 --> 00:03:36,318 -I felt like she was just right with me 85 00:03:36,387 --> 00:03:38,620 and knew my life as soon as I picked up the phone. 86 00:03:38,689 --> 00:03:40,722 -By the end of the conversation, 87 00:03:40,791 --> 00:03:43,486 I found -- it felt like I had a friend. 88 00:03:43,555 --> 00:03:45,627 -By the time I hung up the phone, I was very pumped up. 89 00:03:45,696 --> 00:03:49,231 -There were four or five psychic networks out there, 90 00:03:49,300 --> 00:03:51,499 all pitching the -- the same thing 91 00:03:51,568 --> 00:03:53,535 in pretty much the same way. 92 00:03:53,604 --> 00:03:55,336 -There's a psychic on every corner. 93 00:03:55,405 --> 00:03:56,604 You can call psychics, 94 00:03:56,673 --> 00:03:59,374 you can go see a psychic, and whatever. 95 00:03:59,443 --> 00:04:02,544 But there was something about Cleo. 96 00:04:02,613 --> 00:04:05,480 -If you've never seen a Miss Cleo infomercial, 97 00:04:05,549 --> 00:04:07,783 I beg you to go to YouTube. 98 00:04:07,852 --> 00:04:14,852 ♪♪ 99 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:20,863 -If your love life has trouble, the power of the tarot can help. 100 00:04:20,932 --> 00:04:23,398 Call me for your free reading now. 101 00:04:23,467 --> 00:04:25,801 There is a secret, baby -- you understand me? 102 00:04:25,870 --> 00:04:27,702 -Yes. -...in this relationship. 103 00:04:27,771 --> 00:04:29,570 The situation that we're looking at 104 00:04:29,639 --> 00:04:31,005 that is one of another relationship. 105 00:04:31,074 --> 00:04:33,776 Let me stop trying to be polite. You understand me? 106 00:04:33,845 --> 00:04:35,576 And the secret is yours, is it not? 107 00:04:35,645 --> 00:04:38,880 -He was with someone else. -And you are, too. 108 00:04:38,949 --> 00:04:42,518 -Miss Cleo was a psychic advisor, 109 00:04:42,587 --> 00:04:45,353 and she read tarot cards. 110 00:04:45,422 --> 00:04:47,889 -"Girl, no, he didn't." "Yes." 111 00:04:47,958 --> 00:04:50,158 Like, I felt like I was watching a "Maury" episode, 112 00:04:50,227 --> 00:04:51,859 but, like, just her. 113 00:04:51,928 --> 00:04:54,829 -You were feeling as if she was cheating on you, weren't you? 114 00:04:54,898 --> 00:04:56,764 -Yeah, I did. -That's 'cause she was. 115 00:04:56,833 --> 00:05:02,738 -It was the best Insta Live you could have had in 1997. 116 00:05:02,807 --> 00:05:05,007 It was so good. So good. 117 00:05:05,076 --> 00:05:06,808 -If anyone watched TV after midnight 118 00:05:06,877 --> 00:05:09,878 from, like, '99 to, like, 2002 or whatever, 119 00:05:09,947 --> 00:05:11,980 like, you knew who Miss Cleo was. 120 00:05:12,049 --> 00:05:15,016 -Well, you never know where Miss Cleo is going to show up. 121 00:05:15,085 --> 00:05:19,254 I'm on TV, I'm on the radio, and sometimes, like today, 122 00:05:19,323 --> 00:05:21,623 I'm on TV while I'm on the radio. 123 00:05:21,692 --> 00:05:23,258 -There's a dynamic energy to her, 124 00:05:23,327 --> 00:05:24,659 and there's a presence to her. 125 00:05:24,728 --> 00:05:26,929 -I guess I would describe it as charisma. 126 00:05:26,998 --> 00:05:29,064 -She's entertaining. 127 00:05:29,133 --> 00:05:30,598 She's got the look. 128 00:05:30,667 --> 00:05:33,402 -All right, go ahead. -I recently divorced. 129 00:05:33,471 --> 00:05:34,770 -Mm-hmm. Congratulations. 130 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,171 -Thank you. -[ Laughs ] 131 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,943 -The thing that stood out about the infomercial was her accent. 132 00:05:42,012 --> 00:05:45,013 -Look at those faces. Those are beautiful faces. 133 00:05:45,082 --> 00:05:48,049 -It was clear that she was appropriating the accent 134 00:05:48,118 --> 00:05:51,552 and that it wasn't an authentic Jamaican accent. 135 00:05:51,621 --> 00:05:53,588 -She was quick on the draw. 136 00:05:53,657 --> 00:05:56,458 She would take these sort of ordinary questions 137 00:05:56,527 --> 00:05:59,795 and launch into sort of, like, very funny, 138 00:05:59,864 --> 00:06:01,864 very unexpected sort of spiels 139 00:06:01,933 --> 00:06:04,832 about whatever the topic at hand was. 140 00:06:04,901 --> 00:06:06,836 -Who asked you to go out of town, the stupid young one, 141 00:06:06,905 --> 00:06:08,836 or the married one? -The married one. 142 00:06:08,905 --> 00:06:10,972 -That's what me thought. Don't go. You hear me? 143 00:06:11,041 --> 00:06:13,503 -This was like the girlfriend you invited over for coffee -- 144 00:06:13,572 --> 00:06:15,376 your Black friend that you invited over for coffee. 145 00:06:15,445 --> 00:06:17,912 She was like, "Mm, honey, I told you. I could have told you this. 146 00:06:17,981 --> 00:06:20,648 Oh, yeah, no, no. No, that's the one. He's been cheating on you. 147 00:06:20,717 --> 00:06:22,550 Oh, see, I'm gonna tell you the real deal." 148 00:06:22,619 --> 00:06:24,753 They didn't just want to hear about the future. 149 00:06:24,822 --> 00:06:27,021 They wanted what she gave, 150 00:06:27,090 --> 00:06:30,192 which other psychics and other infomercials didn't give. 151 00:06:30,261 --> 00:06:32,460 She gave you the truth. 152 00:06:32,529 --> 00:06:34,096 -I don't want you nowhere around him -- 153 00:06:34,165 --> 00:06:36,932 not in his car, not in his presence. 154 00:06:37,001 --> 00:06:39,500 Your mother would have a proverbial fit. 155 00:06:39,569 --> 00:06:41,569 I once had gone from him. You understand? 156 00:06:41,638 --> 00:06:43,706 -Yes, ma'am. -I don't know that much 157 00:06:43,775 --> 00:06:45,106 about who she was. 158 00:06:45,175 --> 00:06:48,143 I don't know that much about what her actual 159 00:06:48,212 --> 00:06:51,113 mystical abilities were or weren't. 160 00:06:51,182 --> 00:06:54,048 I don't really believe in, like, psychics or magic, 161 00:06:54,117 --> 00:06:58,119 but I do think that there are certain people who are, like, 162 00:06:58,188 --> 00:07:02,892 good at being able to talk to someone and sort of understand 163 00:07:02,961 --> 00:07:04,992 who they are in an instinctive way 164 00:07:05,061 --> 00:07:10,799 and be able to give advice in a way that feels magical. 165 00:07:10,868 --> 00:07:15,603 -I believe everyone has the ability to tap into an energy 166 00:07:15,672 --> 00:07:18,173 that allows you to connect to other humans. 167 00:07:18,242 --> 00:07:20,208 Some people practice it a little bit more, 168 00:07:20,277 --> 00:07:23,812 so they're able to really see auras and understand 169 00:07:23,881 --> 00:07:25,846 the human energy field 170 00:07:25,915 --> 00:07:28,884 and understand what chakras are moving and what's not -- 171 00:07:28,953 --> 00:07:31,720 you know, this whole new-age practice. 172 00:07:31,789 --> 00:07:37,125 So when I saw Miss Cleo, I did believe. 173 00:07:37,194 --> 00:07:39,994 -With the help of the spirits and my tarot cards, 174 00:07:40,063 --> 00:07:43,999 I can see your life even more clearly than you can yourself. 175 00:07:44,068 --> 00:07:45,867 -At that point, she was inscrutable. 176 00:07:45,936 --> 00:07:47,869 We didn't know enough about her personal life. 177 00:07:47,938 --> 00:07:50,906 We didn't know anything about what she did prior. 178 00:07:50,975 --> 00:07:53,341 -Who's the real Miss Cleo, right? 179 00:07:53,410 --> 00:07:56,811 Who is the real Miss Cleo? 180 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:59,748 -There was a documentary came out called "Hotline" 181 00:07:59,817 --> 00:08:01,984 that she was on, so she was hoping 182 00:08:02,053 --> 00:08:03,646 that she would be interviewed enough 183 00:08:03,715 --> 00:08:05,787 so people would see that she was the real thing. 184 00:08:05,856 --> 00:08:10,492 It was actually filmed in my living room at the house. 185 00:08:10,561 --> 00:08:14,129 -[ Speaking indistinctly ] 186 00:08:14,198 --> 00:08:16,168 Check your focus. 187 00:08:18,168 --> 00:08:20,636 Oh, you look wonderful. -Oh, thank you. 188 00:08:20,705 --> 00:08:21,937 [ Both laugh ] 189 00:08:22,006 --> 00:08:24,539 My name is Youree Dell Cleomili Harris. 190 00:08:24,608 --> 00:08:27,475 I'm also known as Miss Cleo. 191 00:08:27,544 --> 00:08:32,046 I am a trained priestess. 192 00:08:32,115 --> 00:08:36,451 I have many ways and abilities to divine information. 193 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:41,356 I absolutely commune and chat with those on the other side. 194 00:08:41,425 --> 00:08:44,493 Some call them the dead. Some call them spirits. 195 00:08:44,562 --> 00:08:46,661 [ Laughs ] 196 00:08:46,730 --> 00:08:48,930 But absolutely, with the energies 197 00:08:48,999 --> 00:08:51,933 and the vibrations of those that have crossed over. 198 00:08:52,002 --> 00:08:53,968 I would not call myself a medium 199 00:08:54,037 --> 00:08:57,640 because it is so much broader than that for me. 200 00:08:57,709 --> 00:08:58,908 For me, it is a belief system. 201 00:08:58,977 --> 00:09:01,710 Some may even label it a religion. 202 00:09:01,779 --> 00:09:04,346 -She would claim she was a voodoo priestess. 203 00:09:04,415 --> 00:09:06,280 That's what her job was. 204 00:09:06,349 --> 00:09:08,450 -You know, people say, "Oh, I don't -- I don't agree with you 205 00:09:08,519 --> 00:09:10,352 about this, that and the other," and I'll say, "Well, that's not 206 00:09:10,421 --> 00:09:12,454 what your aunt is saying," or whoever the spirit is 207 00:09:12,523 --> 00:09:14,656 that's come over, or, "That's not what your dad is saying," 208 00:09:14,725 --> 00:09:18,126 you know, and -- and more over than not, 209 00:09:18,195 --> 00:09:22,297 people hear that, and there is a sense of peace. 210 00:09:22,366 --> 00:09:26,134 And -- And the spirits are always so wonderful to me 211 00:09:26,203 --> 00:09:28,970 because they always give me a piece of information 212 00:09:29,039 --> 00:09:30,840 that makes that connection. 213 00:09:30,909 --> 00:09:32,842 -You could sit down with her, 214 00:09:32,911 --> 00:09:37,012 and she could give you the most insight 215 00:09:37,081 --> 00:09:39,247 on what is troubling you the most. 216 00:09:39,316 --> 00:09:42,217 And you don't have to say anything. 217 00:09:42,286 --> 00:09:45,020 She could see it. 218 00:09:45,089 --> 00:09:47,021 -She was disciplined in her practice. 219 00:09:47,090 --> 00:09:50,259 She made sure she meditated. She kept her altar. 220 00:09:50,328 --> 00:09:52,161 She'd think that that really helped her 221 00:09:52,230 --> 00:09:56,131 manage her relationship with the spirit world. 222 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,237 -This poor woman. 223 00:10:01,805 --> 00:10:05,240 She was very, very, very hurt in life. 224 00:10:05,309 --> 00:10:07,241 And two things happen. 225 00:10:07,310 --> 00:10:10,345 You either want to hurt others when you're treated like that, 226 00:10:10,414 --> 00:10:12,981 or you decide that you want to help others. 227 00:10:13,050 --> 00:10:19,454 And I felt that she wanted to be the person that helped people. 228 00:10:19,523 --> 00:10:23,291 -Cleo could read people. She could look at you and clock you. 229 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:25,260 And I think when she knew that she was in the presence 230 00:10:25,329 --> 00:10:28,195 of people that were open, she would want to kind of go in 231 00:10:28,264 --> 00:10:32,567 and see what she could pull out and also kind of teach you. 232 00:10:32,636 --> 00:10:37,005 -She started telling me about my uncle that had passed away. 233 00:10:37,074 --> 00:10:39,942 I never mentioned my uncle. 234 00:10:40,011 --> 00:10:45,014 She was so specific about his death 235 00:10:45,083 --> 00:10:47,382 and things that he was accused of. 236 00:10:47,451 --> 00:10:50,118 See, this was not even a story that I knew. 237 00:10:50,187 --> 00:10:53,988 I had to call my mother when this was all over and said, 238 00:10:54,057 --> 00:10:56,191 "Cleo said this and this. Does this make any sense?" 239 00:10:56,260 --> 00:10:59,861 She goes, "Oh, yeah, that makes a lot of sense." 240 00:10:59,930 --> 00:11:02,230 -She had told me about my friend Dolly -- 241 00:11:02,299 --> 00:11:04,299 that her presence was there with us. 242 00:11:04,368 --> 00:11:07,535 Dolly had passed away at a very young age. 243 00:11:07,604 --> 00:11:09,238 She had said, "She's here," 244 00:11:09,307 --> 00:11:10,906 said, "She's holding something up. 245 00:11:10,975 --> 00:11:13,040 She wants you to know she's okay. 246 00:11:13,109 --> 00:11:15,845 You worry about her. You think about her all the time. 247 00:11:15,914 --> 00:11:17,345 She gave you something to remember her, 248 00:11:17,414 --> 00:11:20,815 and she's holding up something silver." 249 00:11:20,884 --> 00:11:23,185 Dolly gave me a little silver ring. 250 00:11:23,254 --> 00:11:24,619 I still carry it. 251 00:11:24,688 --> 00:11:27,122 And it was pretty remarkable. 252 00:11:27,191 --> 00:11:29,485 -One of my fraternity brothers came over. 253 00:11:29,554 --> 00:11:31,292 She said that, you know, "I see 254 00:11:31,361 --> 00:11:34,295 you're gonna have a problem with the left side of your body. 255 00:11:34,364 --> 00:11:36,063 You're gonna be numb, the left side of your body. 256 00:11:36,132 --> 00:11:38,366 Something's gonna happen," and, like, two weeks later, 257 00:11:38,435 --> 00:11:39,935 he had a stroke 258 00:11:40,004 --> 00:11:42,904 and was paralyzed on that side of his body. 259 00:11:42,973 --> 00:11:45,440 She saw it happening. 260 00:11:45,509 --> 00:11:50,010 -Everyone perceived something different from Cleo. 261 00:11:50,079 --> 00:11:53,315 I think that was, like, one of the mysteries of Cleo. 262 00:11:53,384 --> 00:11:58,253 -But not everyone had the same experience. 263 00:11:58,322 --> 00:12:03,391 ♪♪ 264 00:12:03,460 --> 00:12:07,266 [ Boat horn blowing ] 265 00:12:11,863 --> 00:12:15,303 -Seattle has a thriving Black arts scene. 266 00:12:15,372 --> 00:12:19,908 We've always had tons and tons of amazing performing artists. 267 00:12:19,977 --> 00:12:23,311 -You know, Seattle is a small city, 268 00:12:23,380 --> 00:12:25,414 and it has a small Black community. 269 00:12:25,483 --> 00:12:29,517 And Langston Hughes was the center for that. 270 00:12:29,586 --> 00:12:32,354 I was the director. I was in charge of the space. 271 00:12:32,423 --> 00:12:36,491 So we developed a season of theater 272 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:38,160 and performing arts events. 273 00:12:38,229 --> 00:12:41,796 She was known for doing plays. 274 00:12:41,865 --> 00:12:44,727 She wrote plays, and she directed plays. 275 00:12:44,796 --> 00:12:46,368 She made an arrangement with us here 276 00:12:46,437 --> 00:12:48,436 at the -- at the facility to produce a play, 277 00:12:48,505 --> 00:12:51,005 and she brought in a lot of the actors, 278 00:12:51,074 --> 00:12:54,509 and the play was regarded as a good production -- 279 00:12:54,578 --> 00:12:58,413 good enough that I asked her to be a part of the season. 280 00:12:58,482 --> 00:13:02,417 -I remember her as Ree -- Ree Perris. 281 00:13:02,486 --> 00:13:05,220 Ree was short for Youree. 282 00:13:05,289 --> 00:13:09,257 It always sounded made up to me. 283 00:13:09,326 --> 00:13:11,292 But I'm also the type of person that's like, 284 00:13:11,361 --> 00:13:13,462 "Who am I to question, you know?" 285 00:13:13,531 --> 00:13:16,198 I remember being comfortable with her. 286 00:13:16,267 --> 00:13:18,333 I thought she was a really nice lady, 287 00:13:18,402 --> 00:13:21,035 really interesting, a little eccentric. 288 00:13:21,104 --> 00:13:24,639 -Having a character like that moving through the space 289 00:13:24,708 --> 00:13:27,670 gave us all something to laugh and joke about. 290 00:13:27,739 --> 00:13:29,978 -She could turn into a character, 291 00:13:30,047 --> 00:13:32,613 you know, in conversation. 292 00:13:32,682 --> 00:13:35,511 You know, she could do different things with her voice. 293 00:13:35,580 --> 00:13:39,121 But as far as everyday speaking, 294 00:13:39,190 --> 00:13:43,224 she did not have a Jamaican accent. 295 00:13:43,293 --> 00:13:47,563 And I don't recall if she ever gave any indication 296 00:13:47,632 --> 00:13:50,035 that she was Jamaican. 297 00:13:51,102 --> 00:13:52,533 I don't know. 298 00:13:52,602 --> 00:13:54,436 I want to say St. Louis or something, 299 00:13:54,505 --> 00:13:56,805 but I don't know -- like, Midwest. 300 00:13:56,874 --> 00:13:59,140 And we didn't even ask back then. 301 00:13:59,209 --> 00:14:04,512 -Miss Cleo is a character that was born out of a play 302 00:14:04,581 --> 00:14:09,718 that Youree was working on here at Langston Hughes 303 00:14:09,787 --> 00:14:13,054 called "For Women Only" that she was to play. 304 00:14:13,123 --> 00:14:18,526 And so that idea of this Jamaican shaman psychic 305 00:14:18,595 --> 00:14:21,531 was really birthed out of a character 306 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:23,398 that she was working on 307 00:14:23,467 --> 00:14:27,302 when she spent a time here in Seattle. 308 00:14:27,371 --> 00:14:31,806 She was under contract and was paid her base amount, 309 00:14:31,875 --> 00:14:36,611 and then it was up to her to pay the actors and different people 310 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,314 that she was gonna involve in the productions. 311 00:14:39,383 --> 00:14:41,716 It was several thousand dollars, 312 00:14:41,785 --> 00:14:45,154 and she got the check and never paid people. 313 00:14:45,223 --> 00:14:48,858 -They were pretty pissed off. 314 00:14:48,927 --> 00:14:50,392 -There was more excuses 315 00:14:50,461 --> 00:14:54,196 than there was actually follow through. 316 00:14:54,265 --> 00:14:58,299 I think that she mentioned having cancer at some point. 317 00:14:58,368 --> 00:15:00,268 You don't want to not believe somebody 318 00:15:00,337 --> 00:15:02,070 when they're saying that they're ill 319 00:15:02,139 --> 00:15:04,172 and they have something going on. 320 00:15:04,241 --> 00:15:06,575 But things started to not add up. 321 00:15:06,644 --> 00:15:10,111 -There were some challenges with her relationships with people. 322 00:15:10,180 --> 00:15:12,114 I didn't know her, really, right? 323 00:15:12,183 --> 00:15:14,715 I trusted in her artistic pursuits. 324 00:15:14,784 --> 00:15:19,054 So there's a lot of mystery around her time at Langston. 325 00:15:19,123 --> 00:15:21,056 There was a lot unknown. 326 00:15:21,125 --> 00:15:23,358 All I know is that one day she was here, 327 00:15:23,427 --> 00:15:27,228 we did some cool plays, and then she was gone. 328 00:15:27,297 --> 00:15:29,865 -And no one ever heard from her again. 329 00:15:29,934 --> 00:15:35,303 ♪♪ 330 00:15:35,372 --> 00:15:37,238 -Caution -- a tarot card reading 331 00:15:37,307 --> 00:15:39,040 may be very personal and intense. 332 00:15:39,109 --> 00:15:40,976 Be prepared for amazing revelations. 333 00:15:41,045 --> 00:15:43,178 Call for your free tarot reading now. 334 00:15:43,247 --> 00:15:45,613 -I came to work for the Hotline as a suggestion 335 00:15:45,682 --> 00:15:50,252 from my sister-in-law for a source of income 336 00:15:50,321 --> 00:15:52,520 that would work with my schedule. 337 00:15:52,589 --> 00:15:54,389 And so she said, "Well, you should go 338 00:15:54,458 --> 00:15:56,658 on one of those psychic lines." And I was like, "Really? 339 00:15:56,727 --> 00:15:58,760 Those commercials are really silly, you know?" 340 00:15:58,829 --> 00:16:02,630 I said, "I don't know. I..." And she's like, "Just try it. 341 00:16:02,699 --> 00:16:04,700 If you don't like it, you don't like it." 342 00:16:04,769 --> 00:16:06,068 -Psychic Readers Network, 343 00:16:06,137 --> 00:16:09,570 -We're talking '98, '99. 344 00:16:09,639 --> 00:16:13,542 We both were behind the camera with the Psychic Network 345 00:16:13,611 --> 00:16:18,346 for about a year before she became Miss Cleo. 346 00:16:18,415 --> 00:16:21,984 -We had a nice host, and she was wonderful, 347 00:16:22,053 --> 00:16:23,484 but we were losing her, 348 00:16:23,553 --> 00:16:26,889 and they just didn't know what they were going to do. 349 00:16:26,958 --> 00:16:28,656 They bring in this white woman 350 00:16:28,725 --> 00:16:30,592 that looks like she's straight out of Boca. 351 00:16:30,661 --> 00:16:33,061 She's telling stories and flipping cards, 352 00:16:33,130 --> 00:16:34,829 and nothing made any sense. 353 00:16:34,898 --> 00:16:37,499 I mean, we don't know. We -- we're not tarot readers. 354 00:16:37,568 --> 00:16:41,802 And Cleo sees this commercial, and she just goes nuts. 355 00:16:41,871 --> 00:16:44,706 It's like, "What? What -- What are they doing?" 356 00:16:44,775 --> 00:16:46,174 Talks to the producer and saying, 357 00:16:46,243 --> 00:16:48,010 "I was watching television, 358 00:16:48,079 --> 00:16:51,312 and I see your latest commercial. 359 00:16:51,381 --> 00:16:52,647 It doesn't make any sense." 360 00:16:52,716 --> 00:16:55,450 So they hired Cleo to come backstage with us 361 00:16:55,519 --> 00:16:59,220 to set the deck, so we hired actors, we had writers, 362 00:16:59,289 --> 00:17:00,721 but nothing looked right. 363 00:17:00,790 --> 00:17:04,125 Nothing sounded right. It looked staged -- sound stage. 364 00:17:04,194 --> 00:17:05,795 The worst acting you've ever seen. 365 00:17:05,864 --> 00:17:06,996 It was horrible. 366 00:17:07,065 --> 00:17:08,630 -Amazing Accuracy. 367 00:17:08,699 --> 00:17:10,832 -Psychics who are friendly, who care. 368 00:17:10,901 --> 00:17:14,002 -They're trying different hosts. Nothing's working. 369 00:17:14,071 --> 00:17:16,038 They're looking everywhere. 370 00:17:16,107 --> 00:17:19,574 So they hire Cleo to host a show. 371 00:17:19,643 --> 00:17:23,312 -When they approached me about being a spokesperson, 372 00:17:23,381 --> 00:17:26,147 my first initial response was, 373 00:17:26,216 --> 00:17:28,918 "I have a reputation to maintain. 374 00:17:28,987 --> 00:17:30,785 I really can't. I don't want to. 375 00:17:30,854 --> 00:17:35,290 You know, I don't think that you all take it seriously." 376 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:37,459 Now, this is me being on the line, 377 00:17:37,528 --> 00:17:40,961 recognizing now that this is a business. 378 00:17:41,030 --> 00:17:44,532 And I thought, "Well, it would be nice to do a commercial 379 00:17:44,601 --> 00:17:47,936 where people actually can get some feedback. 380 00:17:48,005 --> 00:17:50,072 And I said, "Look, I'm gonna -- 381 00:17:50,141 --> 00:17:51,940 you can put a camera in front of me. 382 00:17:52,009 --> 00:17:56,144 I'm gonna do what I do at home. I'm gonna read my cards. 383 00:17:56,213 --> 00:17:57,679 You can't tell me how to read my cards. 384 00:17:57,748 --> 00:17:59,581 You can't tell me when to read my cards. 385 00:17:59,650 --> 00:18:01,444 You can't tell me what formation to use. 386 00:18:01,513 --> 00:18:04,586 I'm gonna read my cards. If it works for you all, fabulous. 387 00:18:04,655 --> 00:18:07,690 If it doesn't, it's all right with me." 388 00:18:07,759 --> 00:18:08,989 -Caller? -Yes. 389 00:18:09,058 --> 00:18:12,327 -Oh, hello. How are you today? -Fine. How are you? 390 00:18:12,396 --> 00:18:14,796 -I'm doing absolutely fabulous, darling. 391 00:18:14,865 --> 00:18:16,197 Can I get your -- -Wonderful, darling. 392 00:18:16,266 --> 00:18:18,734 -[ Laughs ] I like you already. 393 00:18:18,803 --> 00:18:20,469 -And it blew up. 394 00:18:20,538 --> 00:18:23,939 -It was an infomercial. [ Laughs ] 395 00:18:24,008 --> 00:18:25,840 That's where my head was at. 396 00:18:25,909 --> 00:18:29,277 It was no -- literally, no big deal. 397 00:18:29,346 --> 00:18:31,413 If you want him to believe that it's over, 398 00:18:31,482 --> 00:18:33,448 then you got to stop accepting the booty calls 399 00:18:33,517 --> 00:18:34,950 at 2:00 a.m. in the morning. 400 00:18:35,019 --> 00:18:36,485 You understand? -Yeah. 401 00:18:36,554 --> 00:18:39,454 -She didn't have to sell hard, 'cause her thing was, 402 00:18:39,523 --> 00:18:42,590 "You can come to me or not, but I do have the answers." 403 00:18:42,659 --> 00:18:44,988 Let me take you back five months. 404 00:18:45,057 --> 00:18:46,561 He got out and cussed somebody out, 405 00:18:46,630 --> 00:18:48,864 fi taking him parking space, did he not? 406 00:18:48,933 --> 00:18:50,198 -Yeah. Oh, my Lord. 407 00:18:50,267 --> 00:18:51,766 -The conversations that she's having 408 00:18:51,835 --> 00:18:54,535 on the phone are just like, "You got that right, 409 00:18:54,604 --> 00:18:56,471 and you got that right and you got that -- 410 00:18:56,540 --> 00:18:57,840 and you got that right?" 411 00:18:57,909 --> 00:19:00,341 -The greatest numbers they've ever had 412 00:19:00,410 --> 00:19:02,377 in the history of the Psychic Network. 413 00:19:02,446 --> 00:19:07,148 Within two months of that one show, 414 00:19:07,217 --> 00:19:09,818 everybody knew who Miss Cleo was. 415 00:19:09,887 --> 00:19:14,857 -It is my pleasure to welcome the one and only Miss Cleo. 416 00:19:14,926 --> 00:19:16,887 [ Cheers and applause ] 417 00:19:16,956 --> 00:19:18,393 [ Both speaking indistinctly ] 418 00:19:18,462 --> 00:19:19,794 -How you doing, sweetness? 419 00:19:19,863 --> 00:19:21,862 -I'm doing fine. The question is, how are you? 420 00:19:21,931 --> 00:19:24,799 I can't go anywhere without hearing your name or seeing you. 421 00:19:24,868 --> 00:19:26,668 -Yeah, it's a little bit painful, huh? 422 00:19:26,737 --> 00:19:30,238 -I was doing her makeup on the set when we met. 423 00:19:30,307 --> 00:19:33,174 -It was an experience. She was so big -- 424 00:19:33,243 --> 00:19:35,244 her voice, everything about her. 425 00:19:35,313 --> 00:19:37,345 -You couldn't help but just pay attention 426 00:19:37,414 --> 00:19:39,581 to everything that she said. 427 00:19:39,650 --> 00:19:41,917 -Whose mother is this that I see that seems to have 428 00:19:41,986 --> 00:19:44,553 a great deal to input. -It's his mother. 429 00:19:44,622 --> 00:19:47,722 -Aha! Now we're getting down to the good stuff. 430 00:19:47,791 --> 00:19:51,493 -I remember that -- that young producer saying to me, he said, 431 00:19:51,562 --> 00:19:54,429 "You realize now that your life 432 00:19:54,498 --> 00:19:57,432 is not ever going to be the same." 433 00:19:57,501 --> 00:19:59,467 -We're very excited to have our next guest here. 434 00:19:59,536 --> 00:20:01,068 Her voice is as familiar as her face, 435 00:20:01,137 --> 00:20:04,005 and her expert psychic advice is just a phone call away. 436 00:20:04,074 --> 00:20:08,310 Please welcome shaman and author Miss Cleo! 437 00:20:08,379 --> 00:20:10,645 -Miss Cleo can't possibly be taking 438 00:20:10,714 --> 00:20:12,681 the whole world's calls, you know? 439 00:20:12,750 --> 00:20:15,350 Even if you are calling and getting a psychic, 440 00:20:15,419 --> 00:20:17,613 it's certainly not gonna be Miss Cleo. 441 00:20:17,682 --> 00:20:21,189 -Our operators are standing by right now to receive your call. 442 00:20:21,258 --> 00:20:22,990 Our phone lines are open. 443 00:20:23,059 --> 00:20:28,230 -21 years ago, in 2001, I worked for the Psychic Readers Network 444 00:20:28,299 --> 00:20:31,499 for one summer as a phone psychic. 445 00:20:31,568 --> 00:20:33,301 My roommate had just been looking in the back 446 00:20:33,370 --> 00:20:36,871 of the "Village Voice" for stuff that we could do to make money. 447 00:20:36,940 --> 00:20:39,507 The first one she found, actually, was for phone sex, 448 00:20:39,576 --> 00:20:40,876 and we thought that seemed great. 449 00:20:40,945 --> 00:20:43,545 But the phone sex people wouldn't hire us 450 00:20:43,614 --> 00:20:45,646 because young people would always quit 451 00:20:45,715 --> 00:20:47,282 the phone sex jobs after two days 452 00:20:47,351 --> 00:20:49,884 because, like, it turns out, like, it's very disturbing work. 453 00:20:49,953 --> 00:20:54,189 -I found out about PRN through a little flier 454 00:20:54,258 --> 00:20:58,359 that was put in my door, and there was an advertisement 455 00:20:58,428 --> 00:21:01,063 if I could do readings over the phone. 456 00:21:01,132 --> 00:21:04,333 So I contacted and was hired on the spot. 457 00:21:04,402 --> 00:21:06,701 I was there at the very beginning. 458 00:21:06,770 --> 00:21:10,705 -I met the owners of the place. That's who hired me. 459 00:21:10,774 --> 00:21:13,241 There was no interview. There was nothing. 460 00:21:13,310 --> 00:21:16,979 "What's your name? That's nice. Go. That desk is open. 461 00:21:17,048 --> 00:21:20,950 Sit there." That's how I got hired. 462 00:21:21,019 --> 00:21:23,651 -I was unemployed. 463 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:28,023 I saw "telephone psychic" in the newspaper, and I thought, 464 00:21:28,092 --> 00:21:29,557 "Wow, that sounds fun." 465 00:21:29,626 --> 00:21:33,428 I had been reading tarot cards as a teenager 466 00:21:33,497 --> 00:21:35,630 for friends and stuff. I'm like, "Sure." 467 00:21:35,699 --> 00:21:38,199 -They were looking for Jamaicans 'cause they realized that 468 00:21:38,268 --> 00:21:41,770 the Jamaican accent was -- people were willing to spend more money. 469 00:21:41,839 --> 00:21:43,805 It wasn't a hard job to get. 470 00:21:43,874 --> 00:21:45,940 -Call me now for a free tarot reading. 471 00:21:46,009 --> 00:21:48,671 We fought constantly because they wanted me to say, 472 00:21:48,740 --> 00:21:52,613 "Call me now," and I would say, "But they're not calling me. 473 00:21:52,682 --> 00:21:55,850 They're calling all of these other people." 474 00:21:55,919 --> 00:22:00,455 But, you know, by then, I was in a contract. 475 00:22:00,524 --> 00:22:02,052 -So this is how it worked. 476 00:22:02,121 --> 00:22:03,625 First of all, remember, again, 477 00:22:03,694 --> 00:22:05,827 this was 2001, so we had a landline. 478 00:22:05,896 --> 00:22:08,829 They would route calls through to your landline phone. 479 00:22:08,898 --> 00:22:11,567 So what you would do is you'd dial in 480 00:22:11,636 --> 00:22:13,936 to, like, a 1-800 number, 481 00:22:14,005 --> 00:22:15,870 and that would put you in the system. 482 00:22:15,939 --> 00:22:18,140 You would listen to a recording, saying, like, 483 00:22:18,209 --> 00:22:21,310 "Welcome to the network. You're logged in now." 484 00:22:21,379 --> 00:22:25,346 You hang up, and you would start waiting for the calls to come. 485 00:22:25,415 --> 00:22:26,747 -I was working in an office. 486 00:22:26,816 --> 00:22:29,551 There were six of us at the time. 487 00:22:29,620 --> 00:22:32,554 -They said we're gonna be wearing these headsets, 488 00:22:32,623 --> 00:22:34,689 and when the phone calls would come in, 489 00:22:34,758 --> 00:22:38,493 it was up for us then to be ready to do a reading 490 00:22:38,562 --> 00:22:40,761 and, to the best of our ability, 491 00:22:40,830 --> 00:22:42,959 to stay on the phone with people. 492 00:22:43,028 --> 00:22:44,399 That was the instruction. 493 00:22:44,468 --> 00:22:47,869 He started running ads where the first 3 minutes were free. 494 00:22:47,938 --> 00:22:51,439 -Our lines are wide open. Call in now for a free reading. 495 00:22:51,508 --> 00:22:53,140 -Try us right now for free. 496 00:22:53,209 --> 00:22:57,079 -In that 3 minutes, we had to get their names and addresses, 497 00:22:57,148 --> 00:22:59,709 and then the next day, we'd have to call in 498 00:22:59,778 --> 00:23:03,653 all the names and addresses so they'd have a large roster 499 00:23:03,722 --> 00:23:06,458 for mailings for advertising. 500 00:23:08,759 --> 00:23:12,661 -People were calling, paying an outrageous sum to talk to me. 501 00:23:12,730 --> 00:23:14,629 People always ask me, like, 502 00:23:14,698 --> 00:23:16,431 "Oh, were you trained for this job?" 503 00:23:16,500 --> 00:23:17,966 No, there was no training. 504 00:23:18,035 --> 00:23:19,800 -The training that I received when I started the job 505 00:23:19,869 --> 00:23:22,503 was mainly just to go over the script. 506 00:23:22,572 --> 00:23:24,974 -"Welcome to the Psychic Readers Network. 507 00:23:25,043 --> 00:23:27,209 Thank you for calling. I'm Eileen." 508 00:23:27,278 --> 00:23:29,005 I got to use my real name. 509 00:23:29,074 --> 00:23:31,080 "And I'm here to give you 510 00:23:31,149 --> 00:23:34,316 your very own personalized tarot reading. 511 00:23:34,385 --> 00:23:35,650 So let's begin." 512 00:23:35,719 --> 00:23:40,089 -Miss Cleo people didn't know a damn thing. 513 00:23:40,158 --> 00:23:42,190 They knew nothing. They weren't psychics. 514 00:23:42,259 --> 00:23:43,691 They read from a book. 515 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:45,688 They didn't know what they were talking about. 516 00:23:45,757 --> 00:23:48,796 You called them, and they opened their book, and they said, 517 00:23:48,865 --> 00:23:52,234 "I feel you have a problem. What is the problem? 518 00:23:52,303 --> 00:23:55,236 Why are you calling? I feel this about you. 519 00:23:55,305 --> 00:23:56,672 You are disturbed about..." 520 00:23:56,741 --> 00:23:58,707 All this was in a book. 521 00:23:58,776 --> 00:24:01,511 They gave them more garbage, and they got paid. 522 00:24:01,580 --> 00:24:03,511 That was it. 523 00:24:03,580 --> 00:24:06,114 -The script was total crap. 524 00:24:06,183 --> 00:24:08,649 -Main reason people call is 'cause of love, 525 00:24:08,718 --> 00:24:10,513 and there was a term -- "money or honey." 526 00:24:10,582 --> 00:24:12,720 They're either calling about money or love. 527 00:24:12,789 --> 00:24:15,089 -Did you have a particular question for me, Hope? 528 00:24:15,158 --> 00:24:17,526 -Um, yes, I have a question about this relationship 529 00:24:17,595 --> 00:24:19,060 what I'm in. -Uh-huh? 530 00:24:19,129 --> 00:24:21,130 -We have two different lifestyle, and I want to know, 531 00:24:21,199 --> 00:24:23,899 like, will it last, or should I move on? 532 00:24:23,968 --> 00:24:27,669 -People are open on the phone. 533 00:24:27,738 --> 00:24:30,338 It's almost like a confessional. 534 00:24:30,407 --> 00:24:32,474 There was a couple that called, 535 00:24:32,543 --> 00:24:36,515 and the debate was about oral sex. 536 00:24:38,415 --> 00:24:39,682 [ Laughs ] 537 00:24:39,751 --> 00:24:42,783 And they wanted me to referee. 538 00:24:42,852 --> 00:24:45,753 There was no reading needed here. 539 00:24:45,822 --> 00:24:48,723 They had the wrong 800 number, wrong 900 number. 540 00:24:48,792 --> 00:24:51,225 I don't know, but they were cute. 541 00:24:51,294 --> 00:24:53,461 -Most of the people who call didn't care if I was psychic. 542 00:24:53,530 --> 00:24:56,631 They really just wanted someone to talk to and give them advice. 543 00:24:56,700 --> 00:24:58,299 They just wanted to tell me their problems 544 00:24:58,368 --> 00:25:02,904 and have someone to talk to and have me be a sounding board. 545 00:25:02,973 --> 00:25:06,174 -When I went to become their spokesperson, 546 00:25:06,243 --> 00:25:10,412 I still took calls on the hotline for another six months. 547 00:25:10,481 --> 00:25:14,148 In order to stay in a high priority on the phone line, 548 00:25:14,217 --> 00:25:18,786 your phone calls needed to average 18 minutes or more. 549 00:25:18,855 --> 00:25:23,158 The objective was not to help someone quickly. 550 00:25:23,227 --> 00:25:25,727 It was to drag it out. 551 00:25:25,796 --> 00:25:27,196 -So if you were able to keep people on the phone 552 00:25:27,265 --> 00:25:30,331 for a really long time, you would get more calls. 553 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,001 Usually, I did a fake voice. 554 00:25:32,070 --> 00:25:34,169 I realized quickly that, like, 555 00:25:34,238 --> 00:25:39,040 if I pretended to be a woman, it did go better. 556 00:25:39,109 --> 00:25:41,837 I had Cassandra, who was, like, sort of, like, Southern. 557 00:25:41,906 --> 00:25:43,945 I mean, I'm sure it's, like, totally offensive to people 558 00:25:44,014 --> 00:25:45,781 who are actually from the American South. 559 00:25:45,850 --> 00:25:47,249 "Thank you for calling the network. 560 00:25:47,318 --> 00:25:49,845 This is Cassandra speaking. How may I help you? 561 00:25:49,914 --> 00:25:52,888 Hmm. Every day we're faced with so many choices in life. 562 00:25:52,957 --> 00:25:54,617 I cannot tell you what the future holds, 563 00:25:54,686 --> 00:25:56,425 but on the road of life, we're always presented 564 00:25:56,494 --> 00:25:59,059 with forks in the road, and when we come to a fork, 565 00:25:59,128 --> 00:26:02,525 we must be prepared for the choices that we must make." 566 00:26:02,594 --> 00:26:04,131 She was popular. People liked Cassandra. 567 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:06,834 But, like, you can only do a voice like that for so long, 568 00:26:06,903 --> 00:26:08,904 especially if you're, like, chain smoking 569 00:26:08,973 --> 00:26:10,539 while you're doing it, which I was. 570 00:26:10,608 --> 00:26:13,174 Myself was, like, a strange thing to be as a phone psychic 571 00:26:13,243 --> 00:26:17,312 because it was very obvious, I think, that I was just a kid. 572 00:26:17,381 --> 00:26:19,414 We were given instructions about what to do 573 00:26:19,483 --> 00:26:21,416 if people did ask for Miss Cleo. 574 00:26:21,485 --> 00:26:22,784 "Oh, hold on just a second. 575 00:26:22,853 --> 00:26:24,286 Like, let me go see if I can find her." 576 00:26:24,355 --> 00:26:26,621 Like, put down the phone and, like, walk around 577 00:26:26,690 --> 00:26:29,824 and be, "Oh, Miss Cleo! Miss Cleo, like, can you come? 578 00:26:29,893 --> 00:26:31,393 Like, uh, someone wants to talk to you," 579 00:26:31,462 --> 00:26:33,160 and then, like, you're supposed to do that for as long 580 00:26:33,229 --> 00:26:35,964 as you possibly could and then come back and be like, 581 00:26:36,033 --> 00:26:37,598 "Oh, I'm sorry. She went to lunch or something 582 00:26:37,667 --> 00:26:41,570 and she's not here. Like, you're gonna have to talk to me today." 583 00:26:41,639 --> 00:26:43,638 [ Dial tone ] 584 00:26:43,707 --> 00:26:46,641 -You know you made it big when people are making fun of you. 585 00:26:46,710 --> 00:26:50,546 When people are making fun of you, you're golden, girl. 586 00:26:50,615 --> 00:26:53,248 [ Telephone rings ] 587 00:26:53,317 --> 00:26:56,779 [ Laughter ] 588 00:26:56,848 --> 00:27:01,589 -Miss Talula on the line, ready to tell your future. 589 00:27:01,658 --> 00:27:03,024 -When I was doing "That's So Raven," 590 00:27:03,093 --> 00:27:06,394 it was fun to be able to create that character 591 00:27:06,463 --> 00:27:11,433 loosely based around her, but Raven's version. 592 00:27:11,502 --> 00:27:14,530 There must have been a super fan of Miss Cleo's 593 00:27:14,599 --> 00:27:17,139 on our writing staff at the time. 594 00:27:17,208 --> 00:27:19,941 -Call me now! Call me psychics! 595 00:27:20,010 --> 00:27:22,044 It was also something new and fresh, 596 00:27:22,113 --> 00:27:24,146 and there were many eyes going to there, 597 00:27:24,215 --> 00:27:25,714 so everybody wanted a piece of it. 598 00:27:25,783 --> 00:27:29,718 -Dave Chappelle's Educated Guess Line. 599 00:27:29,787 --> 00:27:31,486 -Hold up. I'm seeing something. 600 00:27:31,555 --> 00:27:33,689 It's your parents. -Oh, God. 601 00:27:33,758 --> 00:27:36,257 -They're angry -- real angry. 602 00:27:36,326 --> 00:27:39,960 They kicked you out for dating a Black dude, didn't they? 603 00:27:40,029 --> 00:27:41,930 -Oh, my God, there's no way you could have known that 604 00:27:41,999 --> 00:27:43,232 unless you knew me. 605 00:27:43,301 --> 00:27:45,367 -Or if I dated four white girls myself. 606 00:27:45,436 --> 00:27:47,569 Thanks for playing. [ Dial tone ] 607 00:27:47,638 --> 00:27:49,238 -Call me now, darling. 608 00:27:49,307 --> 00:27:52,741 -Actually, your accent sounded a little like Ireland 609 00:27:52,810 --> 00:27:54,409 for a minute there. 610 00:27:54,478 --> 00:27:56,745 [ Telephone rings ] 611 00:27:56,814 --> 00:27:58,346 -♪ Call me now ♪ 612 00:27:58,415 --> 00:27:59,815 ♪ C-Call me now ♪ 613 00:27:59,884 --> 00:28:01,283 ♪ C-C-C-Call me now ♪ 614 00:28:01,352 --> 00:28:04,686 -Princess Destiny. Your future is my commission. 615 00:28:04,755 --> 00:28:07,689 -Ooh, that was my 173rd call today. 616 00:28:07,758 --> 00:28:09,659 I'm starting to believe in myself. 617 00:28:09,728 --> 00:28:11,426 -Hello, darling. 618 00:28:11,495 --> 00:28:14,129 This is Miss Cleo coming to live from our studio. 619 00:28:14,198 --> 00:28:16,798 -When MADtv said, "Okay, we're gonna start 620 00:28:16,867 --> 00:28:23,867 doing some Miss Cleo parodies," it was not so much about her 621 00:28:24,742 --> 00:28:26,942 more than it was about the predictions. 622 00:28:27,011 --> 00:28:28,977 How do we have fun with that? 623 00:28:29,046 --> 00:28:32,480 -Hello. Is -- Is this Cleo? -Yes, baby, it is. 624 00:28:32,549 --> 00:28:35,850 -Oh, honey, you're the one that can see into the future? 625 00:28:35,919 --> 00:28:37,853 -Yes, darling, you got the right Cleo. 626 00:28:37,922 --> 00:28:39,188 -Oh, honey, can -- 627 00:28:39,257 --> 00:28:41,690 can I ask you a questions. -Go on. 628 00:28:41,759 --> 00:28:44,760 -Was you working on September the 10th? 629 00:28:44,829 --> 00:28:47,262 [ Laughter ] 630 00:28:47,331 --> 00:28:49,298 -Hey, Miss Cleavon, I'm no psychic, 631 00:28:49,367 --> 00:28:51,932 but I got a feeling you're not even from the islands. 632 00:28:52,001 --> 00:28:54,903 -Oh, don't be messing with Miss Cleavon now. 633 00:28:54,972 --> 00:28:56,505 I don't know what you're talking about. 634 00:28:56,574 --> 00:28:59,308 Miss Cleavon is from Jamaica. 635 00:28:59,377 --> 00:29:04,879 -With Miss Cleo, I thought of her character as intriguing. 636 00:29:04,948 --> 00:29:08,383 I was drawn to her because you don't see, 637 00:29:08,452 --> 00:29:11,921 at least at that time, you didn't see many representations, 638 00:29:11,990 --> 00:29:13,221 first of all, of Black women, 639 00:29:13,290 --> 00:29:16,090 but specifically of Jamaican Black women. 640 00:29:16,159 --> 00:29:20,428 And so as a Jamaican, she immediately caught my attention. 641 00:29:20,497 --> 00:29:24,834 -The light of truth will not be denied. Call now. 642 00:29:24,903 --> 00:29:27,169 -I guess on some level was the question 643 00:29:27,238 --> 00:29:30,872 "Why is this person impersonating a Jamaican?" 644 00:29:30,941 --> 00:29:33,008 -If she just had a New York accent 645 00:29:33,077 --> 00:29:35,911 or, you know, a Wisconsin accent, 646 00:29:35,980 --> 00:29:38,113 it would feel inauthentic. 647 00:29:38,182 --> 00:29:40,982 I didn't know if it was real or not. 648 00:29:41,051 --> 00:29:44,052 But it made me feel like I could trust her. 649 00:29:44,121 --> 00:29:49,725 -There is no one in my circles back then or now 650 00:29:49,794 --> 00:29:51,226 who has ever suggested 651 00:29:51,295 --> 00:29:53,262 that they believe she is Jamaican. 652 00:29:53,331 --> 00:29:57,031 And this is among, you know, Jamaicans, African-Americans. 653 00:29:57,100 --> 00:30:00,269 But it's interesting that, in other communities, 654 00:30:00,338 --> 00:30:04,873 there is almost a defense of that identity as Jamaican. 655 00:30:04,942 --> 00:30:08,904 She tapped into what people believed 656 00:30:08,973 --> 00:30:11,413 were the kinds of characteristics you needed 657 00:30:11,482 --> 00:30:12,981 to have to be a psychic. 658 00:30:13,050 --> 00:30:15,216 It's clear that there was something about 659 00:30:15,285 --> 00:30:21,422 that renegotiated identity that was valuable. 660 00:30:21,491 --> 00:30:25,694 -When we think of Caribbean accents or even African accents, 661 00:30:25,763 --> 00:30:28,229 we're thinking old world. 662 00:30:28,298 --> 00:30:33,702 We're thinking the power of things that we give credence to, 663 00:30:33,771 --> 00:30:37,106 whether it be psychic, mystic -- 664 00:30:37,175 --> 00:30:38,506 because when we think of the Caribbean 665 00:30:38,575 --> 00:30:41,610 and we think of Africa, we think of tribes. 666 00:30:41,679 --> 00:30:45,147 We think of voodoo. 667 00:30:45,216 --> 00:30:49,084 Caribbean and African Diaspora in general 668 00:30:49,153 --> 00:30:53,555 has a long history of being framed 669 00:30:53,624 --> 00:31:00,624 as a place that is bizarre, that is other, that is unusual. 670 00:31:01,598 --> 00:31:06,934 And all of those characteristics connect to the fantastic. 671 00:31:07,003 --> 00:31:14,003 The idea that a Black body has these fantastical capabilities 672 00:31:14,005 --> 00:31:18,346 taps into sort of an underlying understanding 673 00:31:18,415 --> 00:31:22,985 I think many of us have of Blackness 674 00:31:23,054 --> 00:31:26,288 as strangeness, really. 675 00:31:26,357 --> 00:31:28,990 So there were things about her race, 676 00:31:29,059 --> 00:31:32,861 I would say even her size and her gender, 677 00:31:32,930 --> 00:31:35,296 that helped to make it believable 678 00:31:35,365 --> 00:31:39,101 that she was associated with the fantastic. 679 00:31:39,170 --> 00:31:42,371 She's sort of progeny of Mammy in some ways 680 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:48,576 and the mammy figure, who was seen as nurturing but other. 681 00:31:48,645 --> 00:31:51,446 -Us is gonna kill the high-steppin'-est rooster 682 00:31:51,515 --> 00:31:55,117 in the yard and a great big bowl of milk gravy and grits. 683 00:31:55,186 --> 00:31:57,914 And waffles? -There was a level of comfort 684 00:31:57,983 --> 00:32:01,957 that the owners of the Psychic Network 685 00:32:02,026 --> 00:32:04,326 needed customers to have. 686 00:32:04,395 --> 00:32:07,328 And the mammy figure has historically, 687 00:32:07,397 --> 00:32:11,366 though problematically, been a figure 688 00:32:11,435 --> 00:32:16,504 that provides nurturing to the white community. 689 00:32:16,573 --> 00:32:18,969 -Thank you for spending time with me 690 00:32:19,038 --> 00:32:22,310 and allowing me to share my life, my culture, 691 00:32:22,379 --> 00:32:26,685 and my sense of spirituality here on "Mind and Spirit." 692 00:32:28,952 --> 00:32:31,353 -We don't have a lot of back story. 693 00:32:31,422 --> 00:32:36,391 She didn't talk about what went on before. 694 00:32:36,460 --> 00:32:38,226 -A lot of her life was such a mystery, 695 00:32:38,295 --> 00:32:39,894 even for people that spoke to her a lot. 696 00:32:39,963 --> 00:32:42,764 Part of her not wanting to talk about her history -- 697 00:32:42,833 --> 00:32:45,234 history was just painful. 698 00:32:45,303 --> 00:32:47,435 The little we do know about Cleo's back story 699 00:32:47,504 --> 00:32:49,537 can really only be understood by piecing together 700 00:32:49,606 --> 00:32:52,407 the different things she told each of us over the years. 701 00:32:52,476 --> 00:32:58,413 -I recall the story going something like... 702 00:32:58,482 --> 00:33:04,720 um, she was brought to America when she was very young 703 00:33:04,789 --> 00:33:06,721 from Jamaica. 704 00:33:06,790 --> 00:33:11,459 -She told me her mother brought her to the states, 705 00:33:11,528 --> 00:33:15,330 in particular Los Angeles, and gave her away. 706 00:33:15,399 --> 00:33:20,736 -Cleo had a sense that her biological mother 707 00:33:20,805 --> 00:33:22,537 needed to do what she did. 708 00:33:22,606 --> 00:33:25,540 It wasn't because she was some young woman 709 00:33:25,609 --> 00:33:29,612 who didn't want the responsibility. 710 00:33:29,681 --> 00:33:30,778 It was deeper than that. 711 00:33:30,847 --> 00:33:36,318 -She gave her away to a Jamaican couple 712 00:33:36,387 --> 00:33:40,221 who took in several children from Jamaica 713 00:33:40,290 --> 00:33:42,557 to give them a better life. 714 00:33:42,626 --> 00:33:44,959 -I think she had eight or nine brothers. 715 00:33:45,028 --> 00:33:49,031 I always got the sense that she was kind of one of -- 716 00:33:49,100 --> 00:33:51,233 if not the last one to be adopted, 717 00:33:51,302 --> 00:33:54,302 maybe one of the last to be adopted. 718 00:33:54,371 --> 00:33:56,805 -So this woman that didn't like her, 719 00:33:56,874 --> 00:33:58,073 didn't want to have a girl, 720 00:33:58,142 --> 00:33:59,741 didn't want anything to do with her, 721 00:33:59,810 --> 00:34:02,277 but she promised this woman that she'd raise her daughter 722 00:34:02,346 --> 00:34:06,048 in the States with education, so she would raise them, 723 00:34:06,117 --> 00:34:08,083 support them, and educate them. 724 00:34:08,152 --> 00:34:10,452 -So she went to school. 725 00:34:10,521 --> 00:34:13,788 That gave a little more discipline. 726 00:34:13,857 --> 00:34:18,260 -I remember her talking about how much 727 00:34:18,329 --> 00:34:21,763 taller she was than her classmates 728 00:34:21,832 --> 00:34:26,234 and how awkward she felt in school. 729 00:34:26,303 --> 00:34:30,438 Enrolling her in that private school 730 00:34:30,507 --> 00:34:36,711 was to put her in an environment that was more religious, 731 00:34:36,780 --> 00:34:40,816 more traditional, to kind of keep her in line, 732 00:34:40,885 --> 00:34:43,084 you know, spiritually, sexually. 733 00:34:43,153 --> 00:34:46,055 [ Laughs ] It didn't work, but... 734 00:34:46,124 --> 00:34:48,190 uh... 735 00:34:48,259 --> 00:34:51,459 -You know, on television, they wanted me to appear 736 00:34:51,528 --> 00:34:54,295 like I had just arrived on the scene, 737 00:34:54,364 --> 00:34:55,696 straight out of bush. 738 00:34:55,765 --> 00:34:57,432 Well, that wasn't the case. I was educated. 739 00:34:57,501 --> 00:35:00,702 I actually had a higher up tell me one time, 740 00:35:00,771 --> 00:35:04,501 "Well, don't tell me you went to an all-girl boarding school." 741 00:35:04,570 --> 00:35:06,541 "Why not?" 742 00:35:06,610 --> 00:35:08,910 "Well, we really don't want people, you know, 743 00:35:08,979 --> 00:35:11,079 to think that, you know." 744 00:35:11,148 --> 00:35:14,114 "What, that I'm educated?" 745 00:35:14,183 --> 00:35:19,421 -She was a person that suffered for the way she looked, 746 00:35:19,490 --> 00:35:21,189 the way she spoke, 747 00:35:21,258 --> 00:35:27,528 because she would not silence herself from what her truth was. 748 00:35:27,597 --> 00:35:29,930 -This is the story she told all of us. 749 00:35:29,999 --> 00:35:33,405 But we'll never know how much of it is true. 750 00:35:35,106 --> 00:35:37,439 -Truth is dimensional, my dears. 751 00:35:37,508 --> 00:35:40,676 It is not one dimensional. It is multi dimensional. 752 00:35:40,745 --> 00:35:43,212 And that is why the cards work. 753 00:35:43,281 --> 00:35:45,647 Here she is. There is one... 754 00:35:45,716 --> 00:35:47,282 [ Static ] 755 00:35:47,351 --> 00:35:48,984 -It's about to go down, y'all... 756 00:35:49,053 --> 00:35:51,353 -I used to watch a lot of BET growing up. 757 00:35:51,422 --> 00:35:53,288 I always had the TV on, 758 00:35:53,357 --> 00:35:57,759 and I do remember hearing the voice 759 00:35:57,828 --> 00:36:01,429 and looking up and seeing her face, 760 00:36:01,498 --> 00:36:05,468 and basically going, "Oh, shit." [ Laughs ] 761 00:36:05,537 --> 00:36:07,436 -I hear she's on TV, 762 00:36:07,505 --> 00:36:10,438 doing this character called Miss Cleo. 763 00:36:10,507 --> 00:36:14,143 -It kind of was this trickle down of coming back here 764 00:36:14,212 --> 00:36:16,511 and being like, "Did you see? 765 00:36:16,580 --> 00:36:18,981 Did you -- you heard of Miss Cleo?" 766 00:36:19,050 --> 00:36:20,848 -That's her! 767 00:36:20,917 --> 00:36:22,751 -"You heard about Ree and what she's doing? 768 00:36:22,820 --> 00:36:26,521 She's doing this Jamaican accent role on TV, 769 00:36:26,590 --> 00:36:28,757 and she's telling people's fortunes." 770 00:36:28,826 --> 00:36:32,827 -It was a shock, like, having the TV on 771 00:36:32,896 --> 00:36:38,333 and looking up and being like, "What the hell?" 772 00:36:38,402 --> 00:36:40,868 -Call me now for your free tarot reading. 773 00:36:40,937 --> 00:36:43,604 -Call 1-800-980-8637. [ Telephone dialing ] 774 00:36:43,673 --> 00:36:47,142 -I had callers that would call over and over again 775 00:36:47,211 --> 00:36:50,278 whenever there was, you know, something happening. 776 00:36:50,347 --> 00:36:53,214 -When you are calling at an odd hour 777 00:36:53,283 --> 00:36:56,351 and you're spending $5 a minute, 778 00:36:56,420 --> 00:36:59,454 you're in a vulnerable place. 779 00:36:59,523 --> 00:37:01,622 -They were depressed or they were anxious 780 00:37:01,691 --> 00:37:03,325 or they were concerned or worried 781 00:37:03,394 --> 00:37:05,893 or afraid about something. 782 00:37:05,962 --> 00:37:10,598 They wanted someone who they perceived as psychic 783 00:37:10,667 --> 00:37:15,770 to tell them, to reassure them, to give them direction. 784 00:37:15,839 --> 00:37:20,108 -I got this call, and the woman who called me was crying. 785 00:37:20,177 --> 00:37:23,611 And she was telling me about the difficulties in her life. 786 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,648 I think her relationship had ended 787 00:37:26,717 --> 00:37:29,584 and now she didn't have a place to live. 788 00:37:29,653 --> 00:37:31,319 The call just went on and on. 789 00:37:31,388 --> 00:37:33,556 I think it was, like, a half an hour. 790 00:37:33,625 --> 00:37:35,189 And on the one hand, 791 00:37:35,258 --> 00:37:38,526 I suppose that was a good thing for the network, right? 792 00:37:38,595 --> 00:37:44,799 Because they wanted a long call. But for me, I felt awful. 793 00:37:44,868 --> 00:37:50,772 I had crossed a line with what my own ethics were. 794 00:37:50,841 --> 00:37:53,875 It didn't feel right for someone to pay -- 795 00:37:53,944 --> 00:37:56,678 I don't know what she paid -- $100 for the call. 796 00:37:56,747 --> 00:37:58,780 It didn't feel right for her to pay so much money 797 00:37:58,849 --> 00:38:00,883 when she could literally get it for free 798 00:38:00,952 --> 00:38:03,285 at the community mental health center. 799 00:38:03,354 --> 00:38:06,554 -I didn't feel qualified to help them, 800 00:38:06,623 --> 00:38:08,591 and I felt like it was my responsibility 801 00:38:08,660 --> 00:38:09,890 to help them sometimes. 802 00:38:09,959 --> 00:38:11,392 I'm like, "The spirits are telling me, 803 00:38:11,461 --> 00:38:12,928 don't call Miss Cleo. 804 00:38:12,997 --> 00:38:15,225 Like, it's expensive. 805 00:38:15,294 --> 00:38:16,598 You don't have the money for this." 806 00:38:16,667 --> 00:38:18,667 Like, and also, like, I didn't have any money. 807 00:38:18,736 --> 00:38:20,535 I didn't -- I probably didn't even have, 808 00:38:20,604 --> 00:38:22,271 like, $10 in my checking account. 809 00:38:22,340 --> 00:38:24,672 So just, like, there was something sick about trying to, 810 00:38:24,741 --> 00:38:26,641 like, tell people that, like, "Oh, I think 811 00:38:26,710 --> 00:38:28,610 you're gonna come into a large fortune," or whatever. 812 00:38:28,679 --> 00:38:30,712 Like, it just was too depressing. 813 00:38:30,781 --> 00:38:32,414 -The people that worked on the line 814 00:38:32,483 --> 00:38:36,051 were working on the line for as little as 12 cents a minute 815 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:39,121 to as much as -- as 20, 24 cents a minute. 816 00:38:39,190 --> 00:38:43,825 And so those people are not the bad guys. 817 00:38:43,894 --> 00:38:46,060 Even if they weren't great psychics, you know, 818 00:38:46,129 --> 00:38:49,730 even if they didn't give you -- they were not the bad ones. 819 00:38:49,799 --> 00:38:51,767 -There were a lot of people involved 820 00:38:51,836 --> 00:38:55,537 in the hierarchy of it, okay? 821 00:38:55,606 --> 00:38:56,938 There were a lot of people involved 822 00:38:57,007 --> 00:38:59,402 that were making money from this, 823 00:38:59,471 --> 00:39:02,344 and they didn't want to stop making money. 824 00:39:02,413 --> 00:39:06,481 And the more money they made, the more money they wanted. 825 00:39:06,550 --> 00:39:08,483 -The psychics would get in trouble 826 00:39:08,552 --> 00:39:10,886 if we couldn't give every name and address 827 00:39:10,955 --> 00:39:12,753 for every call we had received. 828 00:39:12,822 --> 00:39:14,523 -They will get your phone number, 829 00:39:14,592 --> 00:39:16,158 they will get your name, 830 00:39:16,227 --> 00:39:18,092 they will get everything you want to tell them, 831 00:39:18,161 --> 00:39:22,497 and they will take you for every possible cent you can get. 832 00:39:22,566 --> 00:39:25,134 -As things went along, we started to hear, like, 833 00:39:25,203 --> 00:39:27,001 I think there were kind of, like, rumors. 834 00:39:27,070 --> 00:39:29,738 -Well, I realized the company was having some legal trouble 835 00:39:29,807 --> 00:39:32,573 maybe in the last, like, month. 836 00:39:32,642 --> 00:39:34,875 It was just rumors. Just rumors. 837 00:39:34,944 --> 00:39:37,412 -I do specifically remember that, you know, 838 00:39:37,481 --> 00:39:39,848 when we would call in to the system 839 00:39:39,917 --> 00:39:43,050 to, like, start a day's work or a night's work, 840 00:39:43,119 --> 00:39:45,986 there would be a message that we would, like, have to listen to. 841 00:39:46,055 --> 00:39:48,423 "This is the president of the Psychic Readers Network," 842 00:39:48,492 --> 00:39:52,327 or whatever, and he, you know, it was a prerecorded message 843 00:39:52,396 --> 00:39:55,263 where he said, "I know many of you have been hearing 844 00:39:55,332 --> 00:39:59,534 terrible things about Miss Cleo and the Psychic Readers Network. 845 00:39:59,603 --> 00:40:01,670 I want to set the record straight. 846 00:40:01,739 --> 00:40:04,139 Miss Cleo is a woman 847 00:40:04,208 --> 00:40:07,376 of extraordinary talent and psychic ability. 848 00:40:07,445 --> 00:40:11,546 The Psychic Readers Network is for entertainment purposes only. 849 00:40:11,615 --> 00:40:13,582 If anybody is telling you anything else, 850 00:40:13,651 --> 00:40:16,017 you are hearing a lie. 851 00:40:16,086 --> 00:40:19,121 -Those hotlines definitely preyed on those souls 852 00:40:19,190 --> 00:40:22,056 that needed to be seen. 853 00:40:22,125 --> 00:40:27,829 -So that's why it was inevitable to be able to scam people, 854 00:40:27,898 --> 00:40:33,368 because they're going in it with such an emotional desire 855 00:40:33,437 --> 00:40:35,804 that they're not paying attention to anything else. 856 00:40:35,873 --> 00:40:39,775 Those things were powerful, but that was why, also, 857 00:40:39,844 --> 00:40:42,043 it became its downfall. 858 00:40:42,112 --> 00:40:44,546 -If you're up in the middle of the night channel surfing, 859 00:40:44,615 --> 00:40:46,448 you may come across one of those infomercials 860 00:40:46,517 --> 00:40:49,984 that promises you to put -- put you in touch with a psychic. 861 00:40:50,053 --> 00:40:52,420 Most viewers probably just keep on surfing, 862 00:40:52,489 --> 00:40:55,490 but those who stop and call in, 863 00:40:55,559 --> 00:40:57,858 well, they're put in touch with something, all right -- 864 00:40:57,927 --> 00:41:02,497 a telephone bill way beyond what they probably expected. 865 00:41:02,566 --> 00:41:04,566 -Call now for a free tarot reading 866 00:41:04,635 --> 00:41:06,602 and discover the truth today. 867 00:41:06,671 --> 00:41:07,837 Call me now. 868 00:41:07,906 --> 00:41:10,072 Call now and try it for free. 869 00:41:10,141 --> 00:41:12,741 -Well, here's one she just didn't see coming. 870 00:41:12,810 --> 00:41:14,309 A legal fight with the government 871 00:41:14,378 --> 00:41:16,678 is in the cards for Miss Cleo. 872 00:41:16,747 --> 00:41:18,447 -Miss Cleo calls herself a psychic, 873 00:41:18,516 --> 00:41:20,882 so you'd think she would have seen this one coming. 874 00:41:20,951 --> 00:41:22,750 Now, personally, I think she should have seen it coming. 875 00:41:22,819 --> 00:41:24,953 -The state of Florida is suing you. 876 00:41:25,022 --> 00:41:26,755 But then you probably knew that anyway, 877 00:41:26,824 --> 00:41:28,023 didn't you, Miss Cleo? 878 00:41:28,092 --> 00:41:29,758 -Hundreds of people have complained 879 00:41:29,827 --> 00:41:32,627 about a so-called free tarot card reading -- 880 00:41:32,696 --> 00:41:37,065 one they were charged more than $100. 881 00:41:37,134 --> 00:41:39,767 -Rather than consulting her tarot cards, 882 00:41:39,836 --> 00:41:42,804 Miss Cleo and the Psychic Readers Network 883 00:41:42,873 --> 00:41:45,273 had better consult their lawyers. 884 00:41:45,342 --> 00:41:46,807 -My name is Dave Aronberg. 885 00:41:46,876 --> 00:41:49,611 I'm the state attorney for Palm Beach County, 886 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:52,842 and I was the assistant attorney general 887 00:41:52,911 --> 00:41:58,787 who started the investigation against Psychic Readers Network, 888 00:41:58,856 --> 00:42:00,288 including Miss Cleo. 889 00:42:00,357 --> 00:42:02,891 -The charges -- deceptive advertising, 890 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:05,025 billing people who never made any calls, 891 00:42:05,094 --> 00:42:07,862 and sending out illegally threatening dunning letters. 892 00:42:07,931 --> 00:42:10,965 -Which of course means that the people who dial up 893 00:42:11,034 --> 00:42:15,936 for $4.99 a minute are often played for the Fool. 894 00:42:16,005 --> 00:42:18,973 -The Psychic Readers Network obviously thought that the words 895 00:42:19,042 --> 00:42:21,910 "for entertainment only" was sort of like magic dust 896 00:42:21,979 --> 00:42:25,080 that just made their false statement of, 897 00:42:25,149 --> 00:42:28,749 "We're for real," gone into thin air, 898 00:42:28,818 --> 00:42:31,053 that you could say all these lies you wanted, 899 00:42:31,122 --> 00:42:33,421 but as long as you had those three magic words, 900 00:42:33,490 --> 00:42:35,456 poof, they were gone. 901 00:42:35,525 --> 00:42:37,958 But that's not how it works. 902 00:42:38,027 --> 00:42:41,457 I wasn't there to take down the psychic industry. 903 00:42:41,526 --> 00:42:43,899 I was there to investigate a company 904 00:42:43,968 --> 00:42:46,034 that was defrauding consumers. 905 00:42:46,103 --> 00:42:47,802 -We settled with them three separate times. 906 00:42:47,871 --> 00:42:50,472 This is their fourth bite at the apple. 907 00:42:50,541 --> 00:42:52,674 And now we decided to stop settling 908 00:42:52,743 --> 00:42:54,176 and actually start suing. 909 00:42:54,245 --> 00:42:56,812 -Dave Aronberg saw our commercial, 910 00:42:56,881 --> 00:42:59,280 did not like what he was seeing. 911 00:42:59,349 --> 00:43:01,082 I was very glad when I heard from Dave 912 00:43:01,151 --> 00:43:04,319 that somebody was doing something about it, 913 00:43:04,388 --> 00:43:05,920 because it had to be done. 914 00:43:05,989 --> 00:43:09,158 -There were many hundreds, if not thousands of complaints 915 00:43:09,227 --> 00:43:12,727 about the company over years from callers 916 00:43:12,796 --> 00:43:14,695 who claimed to have been billed, 917 00:43:14,764 --> 00:43:16,331 even though they never made the calls, 918 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,302 others whose children who are underage had made the calls 919 00:43:20,371 --> 00:43:24,039 and the phone company had deleted it from the bills, 920 00:43:24,108 --> 00:43:25,875 but then they were getting collection letters 921 00:43:25,944 --> 00:43:27,642 from Psychic Readers Network. 922 00:43:27,711 --> 00:43:29,745 -One of the complaints against Miss Cleo 923 00:43:29,814 --> 00:43:31,546 came from Paula Castro. 924 00:43:31,615 --> 00:43:35,250 -This is the first letter that I received on August 21st, 925 00:43:35,319 --> 00:43:41,255 a collection letter for unpaid services, charging me $289. 926 00:43:41,324 --> 00:43:44,593 -The Castros didn't pay because they say they never even thought 927 00:43:44,662 --> 00:43:46,594 about calling the 800 number. 928 00:43:46,663 --> 00:43:49,698 Then threatening collections letters started showing up. 929 00:43:49,767 --> 00:43:51,299 -They pressure you. 930 00:43:51,368 --> 00:43:54,339 -There were even some complaints from people who worked for them. 931 00:43:57,307 --> 00:44:00,041 All these individuals were complaining 932 00:44:00,110 --> 00:44:02,705 about a company based in Fort Lauderdale, 933 00:44:02,774 --> 00:44:06,151 which just happened to be in our backyard. 934 00:44:07,851 --> 00:44:09,852 There were other cases around the country 935 00:44:09,921 --> 00:44:11,720 involving Psychic Readers Network 936 00:44:11,789 --> 00:44:13,388 that were similar to ours. 937 00:44:13,457 --> 00:44:16,024 Even though Miss Cleo was a very compelling character 938 00:44:16,093 --> 00:44:19,628 and someone who could be seen as credible 939 00:44:19,697 --> 00:44:21,363 because she held herself out 940 00:44:21,432 --> 00:44:24,133 as a Jamaican Shango Shaman psychic. 941 00:44:24,202 --> 00:44:26,502 And how would you know that's not true? 942 00:44:26,571 --> 00:44:27,902 -The case went nowhere 943 00:44:27,971 --> 00:44:30,538 until former employee turned whistleblower 944 00:44:30,607 --> 00:44:34,676 Barbara Melot dropped this bombshell in a hearing. 945 00:44:34,745 --> 00:44:37,946 -There were no Shango shamans working in the call center. 946 00:44:38,015 --> 00:44:40,182 There are no Shango shamans. 947 00:44:40,251 --> 00:44:42,049 -We were going to help in any way we could 948 00:44:42,118 --> 00:44:45,086 because we agreed there was something very wrong there. 949 00:44:45,155 --> 00:44:47,355 -The difference between our investigation 950 00:44:47,424 --> 00:44:51,460 and the ones that had been conducted around the country 951 00:44:51,529 --> 00:44:55,730 was that we included Miss Cleo 952 00:44:55,799 --> 00:44:58,633 as a named party in this investigation. 953 00:44:58,702 --> 00:45:01,069 The others just named the Psychic Readers Network 954 00:45:01,138 --> 00:45:04,706 and perhaps the two owners of the company. 955 00:45:04,775 --> 00:45:07,842 But no one had ever named Miss Cleo before. 956 00:45:07,911 --> 00:45:11,112 And the reason we were able to name Miss Cleo 957 00:45:11,181 --> 00:45:16,251 was because we found a document in doing our research 958 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:18,954 that was a collection letter given to us 959 00:45:19,023 --> 00:45:22,557 by someone who complained about the company 960 00:45:22,626 --> 00:45:24,125 that was signed by Miss Cleo. 961 00:45:24,194 --> 00:45:27,896 -Since state investigators admit they can't read minds, 962 00:45:27,965 --> 00:45:30,098 they've subpoenaed her birth records. 963 00:45:30,167 --> 00:45:32,067 They want to know if the woman who lives 964 00:45:32,136 --> 00:45:35,337 in this Broward County suburb is Miss Cleo. 965 00:45:35,406 --> 00:45:39,408 And is she really the master tarot card reader from Jamaica 966 00:45:39,477 --> 00:45:40,743 she claims to be? 967 00:45:40,812 --> 00:45:45,875 ♪♪ 968 00:45:45,944 --> 00:45:49,111 -So a friend and colleague knew about it first. 969 00:45:49,180 --> 00:45:51,553 So she kind of just casually brought it up with me and said, 970 00:45:51,622 --> 00:45:53,188 "You know, you might want to look into this. 971 00:45:53,257 --> 00:45:55,658 This seems like it'd be an interesting story." 972 00:45:55,727 --> 00:45:58,026 I was a reporter and columnist 973 00:45:58,095 --> 00:45:59,961 at the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer," 974 00:46:00,030 --> 00:46:01,229 which was a newspaper. 975 00:46:01,298 --> 00:46:03,598 Miss Cleo was here in the '90s, 976 00:46:03,667 --> 00:46:05,900 and she worked with this community theater, 977 00:46:05,969 --> 00:46:09,170 and she apparently kind of did the dirty on them a little bit. 978 00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:12,207 You know, she left a little trail of broken hearts behind. 979 00:46:12,276 --> 00:46:14,710 My editor was like, "Yeah, but everybody knows Miss Cleo. 980 00:46:14,779 --> 00:46:16,846 Find out what happened." 981 00:46:16,915 --> 00:46:18,847 And so I just started making calls 982 00:46:18,916 --> 00:46:20,781 and asking questions about, 983 00:46:20,850 --> 00:46:22,717 "Do you remember working with this woman? 984 00:46:22,786 --> 00:46:26,054 What was she like? Where did she say her name was? 985 00:46:26,123 --> 00:46:29,090 What can you tell me about her time here?" 986 00:46:29,159 --> 00:46:31,292 -To be able to come into a community 987 00:46:31,361 --> 00:46:35,891 that you're not from and embed yourself 988 00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:38,933 in the way that she did and convince people 989 00:46:39,002 --> 00:46:43,032 that they should pay her for the great things and her big ideas, 990 00:46:43,101 --> 00:46:46,308 it was just like, wow, like, you know, she left here 991 00:46:46,377 --> 00:46:48,878 and left a lot of people disgruntled. 992 00:46:48,947 --> 00:46:50,412 Then she was able to go somewhere else 993 00:46:50,481 --> 00:46:53,781 and convince people that she was this other person, 994 00:46:53,850 --> 00:46:58,020 that she was a psychic, and that she was a Jamaican woman. 995 00:46:58,089 --> 00:47:00,855 -She told people various stories about herself. 996 00:47:00,924 --> 00:47:03,925 She said she'd gone to the University of Southern California. 997 00:47:03,994 --> 00:47:06,962 She presented herself as a -- as a very together person, right? 998 00:47:07,031 --> 00:47:08,396 Like, "I have -- I have this education. 999 00:47:08,465 --> 00:47:10,432 I went to school in California. I have a degree. 1000 00:47:10,501 --> 00:47:12,767 I've studied, you know, like, theater and creative arts." 1001 00:47:12,836 --> 00:47:18,139 And the web of stories, it seems, is far and wide. 1002 00:47:18,208 --> 00:47:20,876 I just remember looking at the copy of the lawsuit 1003 00:47:20,945 --> 00:47:22,411 and the various names on it, 1004 00:47:22,480 --> 00:47:27,282 and I just thought, "Man, it's a long list of aliases." 1005 00:47:27,351 --> 00:47:29,384 You're Cleomili, whatever. 1006 00:47:29,453 --> 00:47:32,187 Like, there's, like, four or five names. 1007 00:47:32,256 --> 00:47:35,056 I don't know what this woman's actual name is, 1008 00:47:35,125 --> 00:47:38,227 so -- 'cause I didn't have her birth certificate, 1009 00:47:38,296 --> 00:47:40,661 so I just called the university and just basically said, 1010 00:47:40,730 --> 00:47:44,099 "I work for this newspaper, I'm a reporter. 1011 00:47:44,168 --> 00:47:47,636 And do you know anybody who, under these names -- 1012 00:47:47,705 --> 00:47:49,004 have you ever had a student 1013 00:47:49,073 --> 00:47:51,072 either attend or graduate under these names?" 1014 00:47:51,141 --> 00:47:53,775 And they got back to me pretty quickly and said, 1015 00:47:53,844 --> 00:47:56,281 "Nope, nobody." 1016 00:47:58,349 --> 00:48:00,682 -That's the enigma of this woman. 1017 00:48:00,751 --> 00:48:03,151 That could really be her. 1018 00:48:03,220 --> 00:48:05,353 She seemed to be smart enough and skilled enough 1019 00:48:05,422 --> 00:48:06,955 to have gone to that school. 1020 00:48:07,024 --> 00:48:08,957 I mean, really, she was demonstrably 1021 00:48:09,026 --> 00:48:11,096 an intelligent woman. 1022 00:48:13,630 --> 00:48:17,198 -I got some random call one day from some private investigator. 1023 00:48:17,267 --> 00:48:19,029 She said, "Hey, I saw you on TV. 1024 00:48:19,098 --> 00:48:21,432 I've got her birth certificate. You want it?" 1025 00:48:21,501 --> 00:48:23,471 I was like, "Yes." 1026 00:48:23,540 --> 00:48:25,706 -She was asked about her birth certificate, 1027 00:48:25,775 --> 00:48:28,010 which shows her to have been born in Los Angeles 1028 00:48:28,079 --> 00:48:30,312 to American parents. 1029 00:48:30,381 --> 00:48:32,447 -But she tried to keep it purposely vague. 1030 00:48:32,516 --> 00:48:35,050 You may have this birth certificate, but is it accurate? 1031 00:48:35,119 --> 00:48:37,052 "Well, yeah, I mean, I can't dispute that. 1032 00:48:37,121 --> 00:48:38,987 But there are lots of reasons 1033 00:48:39,056 --> 00:48:40,856 why I speak with a Jamaican accent, 1034 00:48:40,925 --> 00:48:43,192 and I'm really from Jamaica." 1035 00:48:43,261 --> 00:48:46,228 But doesn't this document prove otherwise? 1036 00:48:46,297 --> 00:48:49,564 I mean, that's how the deposition went. 1037 00:48:49,633 --> 00:48:51,600 -It's -- It's a fairly straightforward question. 1038 00:48:51,669 --> 00:48:54,335 Is she or is she not from Jamaica? 1039 00:48:54,404 --> 00:48:59,607 -She is -- She is from Jamaica in as much as anyone 1040 00:48:59,676 --> 00:49:03,206 who has Jamaican ties to that country 1041 00:49:03,275 --> 00:49:05,981 or to any other country that they claim they speak -- 1042 00:49:06,050 --> 00:49:08,150 she speaks with the Jamaican accent, 1043 00:49:08,219 --> 00:49:10,485 and is as much as Jamaican 1044 00:49:10,554 --> 00:49:13,521 as anyone that claims that country or their culture. 1045 00:49:13,590 --> 00:49:17,492 -The Western perspective of papers 1046 00:49:17,561 --> 00:49:24,561 and legal documents being the basis for who you are 1047 00:49:24,701 --> 00:49:30,605 ended up becoming very central, because in our American culture, 1048 00:49:30,674 --> 00:49:34,509 legal documents indicate identity. 1049 00:49:34,578 --> 00:49:37,945 And I think that here there is, "What is the evidence? 1050 00:49:38,014 --> 00:49:40,715 What is the paperwork? What is the legal document?" 1051 00:49:40,784 --> 00:49:47,784 But across the African diaspora, the question of identity, 1052 00:49:48,192 --> 00:49:50,459 it just -- just takes some intriguing turns. 1053 00:49:50,528 --> 00:49:54,996 -The more obvious explanation is that she was born Los Angeles, 1054 00:49:55,065 --> 00:49:56,865 she created this Miss Cleo character, 1055 00:49:56,934 --> 00:49:58,466 which had a Jamaican accent, 1056 00:49:58,535 --> 00:50:01,536 and she lived the gimmick for much of her life. 1057 00:50:01,605 --> 00:50:03,171 I don't know if it's true or not, 1058 00:50:03,240 --> 00:50:06,141 but all I know is I had the birth certificate, 1059 00:50:06,210 --> 00:50:08,210 and to explain that there are 10 kids 1060 00:50:08,279 --> 00:50:09,777 and all this whole elaborate story, 1061 00:50:09,846 --> 00:50:11,908 and that's why she has this Jamaican accent, 1062 00:50:11,977 --> 00:50:15,016 maybe I'm just a little skeptical 1063 00:50:15,085 --> 00:50:16,284 based on the investigation, 1064 00:50:16,353 --> 00:50:19,088 but this is the mythology of Miss Cleo. 1065 00:50:19,157 --> 00:50:21,356 -She was a character on that show, 1066 00:50:21,425 --> 00:50:24,226 but the real Cleo was spiritual. 1067 00:50:24,295 --> 00:50:26,394 She was a guide. She was gifted. 1068 00:50:26,463 --> 00:50:29,031 Sometimes people with extreme gifts 1069 00:50:29,100 --> 00:50:31,065 have a hard time handling those gifts. 1070 00:50:31,134 --> 00:50:36,003 -She -- She did have certain spirits that she called on. 1071 00:50:36,072 --> 00:50:43,072 Max was a personality that she had when she needed to rest. 1072 00:50:43,381 --> 00:50:48,649 She would get so exhausted by the spirits 1073 00:50:48,718 --> 00:50:55,356 giving her work to do, so Cleo would become Max, 1074 00:50:55,425 --> 00:50:57,692 who was a male figure. 1075 00:50:57,761 --> 00:51:02,397 Max would come in, introduce himself as Max, you know. 1076 00:51:02,466 --> 00:51:05,333 "Cleo's resting right now." 1077 00:51:05,402 --> 00:51:07,502 Her gait would be different. 1078 00:51:07,571 --> 00:51:12,102 Her speech, the sound of her voice, 1079 00:51:12,171 --> 00:51:17,312 the expressions on her face all changed. 1080 00:51:17,381 --> 00:51:21,917 -There's Gra-mere. So Gra-mere was very formal. 1081 00:51:21,986 --> 00:51:25,320 So I was Patricia to Gra-mere. 1082 00:51:25,389 --> 00:51:30,459 She was like a wise, old woman 1083 00:51:30,528 --> 00:51:34,495 who's speaking partly in metaphor, 1084 00:51:34,564 --> 00:51:38,366 like in a multi-layered kind of speak. 1085 00:51:38,435 --> 00:51:41,636 I found myself wanting to kind of understand 1086 00:51:41,705 --> 00:51:47,842 every word she was saying and still having a hard time. 1087 00:51:47,911 --> 00:51:50,273 -Kind of scary stuff -- it's kind of scary. 1088 00:51:50,342 --> 00:51:54,616 In my house now, this is another person in the same body, 1089 00:51:54,685 --> 00:51:58,423 because seriously, I didn't know who that person was. 1090 00:52:00,389 --> 00:52:05,394 -There were always things being communicated to her, it seemed, 1091 00:52:05,463 --> 00:52:08,930 like, almost like a continuous stream. 1092 00:52:08,999 --> 00:52:12,801 -She goes, "This is not just a suggestion that I'm making. 1093 00:52:12,870 --> 00:52:15,237 I am following what is told to me. 1094 00:52:15,306 --> 00:52:18,841 That's my job, that I hear the spirits, 1095 00:52:18,910 --> 00:52:21,376 and now I have to convey a message. 1096 00:52:21,445 --> 00:52:23,478 And if I don't get that message across, 1097 00:52:23,547 --> 00:52:25,780 they get very disappointed in me." 1098 00:52:25,849 --> 00:52:29,317 -We have disagreements, perhaps, over the mechanism 1099 00:52:29,386 --> 00:52:32,587 of her spirituality, if that -- 1100 00:52:32,656 --> 00:52:36,728 but, like, it was still very real for her. 1101 00:52:40,597 --> 00:52:44,533 -There are some who may insist 1102 00:52:44,602 --> 00:52:49,437 that this is classic mental health, 1103 00:52:49,506 --> 00:52:53,512 split personality, whatever you want to call it. 1104 00:52:57,514 --> 00:53:00,349 -I think that Cleo, as the character 1105 00:53:00,418 --> 00:53:03,552 that you saw on TV or the character in my life, 1106 00:53:03,621 --> 00:53:05,281 may have been a character 1107 00:53:05,350 --> 00:53:11,927 to cope with whatever was going on in her life. 1108 00:53:11,996 --> 00:53:13,362 A lot of people do that. 1109 00:53:13,431 --> 00:53:16,765 We create personas of the people we want to be 1110 00:53:16,834 --> 00:53:21,536 and in some ways, like, fulfill them by trying to act them out. 1111 00:53:21,605 --> 00:53:23,805 -I can't see someone choosing to do that 1112 00:53:23,874 --> 00:53:27,609 unless they were just trying to deal with some things 1113 00:53:27,678 --> 00:53:30,540 that they were not equipped to deal with. 1114 00:53:30,609 --> 00:53:34,749 Maybe she had a really nice childhood with loving parents 1115 00:53:34,818 --> 00:53:38,886 and nothing but stability and apple pie every day. 1116 00:53:38,955 --> 00:53:43,495 I don't know, but that's -- I don't think that was the case. 1117 00:53:46,329 --> 00:53:50,933 -I remember her telling me that she first considered suicide 1118 00:53:51,002 --> 00:53:52,905 at the age of 7. 1119 00:53:55,806 --> 00:54:00,608 So, yeah, her -- her childhood was... 1120 00:54:00,677 --> 00:54:03,846 was really, really challenging. 1121 00:54:03,915 --> 00:54:05,780 [ Wind chimes tinkling ] 1122 00:54:05,849 --> 00:54:10,719 -She had a family member. It was a regular visit to the house. 1123 00:54:10,788 --> 00:54:14,823 She was 11, alone in her bedroom, 1124 00:54:14,892 --> 00:54:20,499 and I guess that he had made attempts at her before. 1125 00:54:22,600 --> 00:54:25,466 And she would run away, you know. 1126 00:54:25,535 --> 00:54:29,170 But this one time, he had her trapped, 1127 00:54:29,239 --> 00:54:31,173 and she was in there. 1128 00:54:31,242 --> 00:54:38,242 ♪♪ 1129 00:54:38,749 --> 00:54:44,286 She had no safe place in that upbringing. 1130 00:54:44,355 --> 00:54:46,688 There was no one to trust, 1131 00:54:46,757 --> 00:54:49,892 and there was no love, understanding. 1132 00:54:49,961 --> 00:54:54,896 ♪♪ 1133 00:54:54,965 --> 00:54:58,300 -When you're all about, like, "How can I get past this? 1134 00:54:58,369 --> 00:55:00,335 How can I make it to the next thing?" 1135 00:55:00,404 --> 00:55:01,702 you're not maybe thinking clearly. 1136 00:55:01,771 --> 00:55:03,438 You're thinking from the point of a -- 1137 00:55:03,507 --> 00:55:06,807 perspective of a person who is traumatized, 1138 00:55:06,876 --> 00:55:09,278 who might not have a tremendous amount 1139 00:55:09,347 --> 00:55:13,548 of self-worth and confidence. 1140 00:55:13,617 --> 00:55:16,051 You don't think that the person who you really are 1141 00:55:16,120 --> 00:55:18,988 is worth knowing. 1142 00:55:19,057 --> 00:55:21,990 So you do the thing that you think 1143 00:55:22,059 --> 00:55:24,359 is gonna help you survive 1144 00:55:24,428 --> 00:55:26,595 and get to the next -- to the next day. 1145 00:55:26,664 --> 00:55:31,100 -And if you split a part of you off in order to do that, 1146 00:55:31,169 --> 00:55:33,468 you'll keep going. 1147 00:55:33,537 --> 00:55:38,139 So whatever part that was that enabled her to live 1148 00:55:38,208 --> 00:55:39,708 in that household, it grew, 1149 00:55:39,777 --> 00:55:46,051 and it became part of who the world got to know as Cleo. 1150 00:55:48,685 --> 00:55:51,486 -All right. This is a very important story. 1151 00:55:51,555 --> 00:55:54,323 The future for Miss Cleo's psychic hotline -- 1152 00:55:54,392 --> 00:55:56,158 not looking good today. 1153 00:55:56,227 --> 00:55:59,794 -The U.S. government came in through the FTC, 1154 00:55:59,863 --> 00:56:02,964 and they really brought the hammer down. 1155 00:56:03,033 --> 00:56:05,633 -My name was proposed by the Federal Trade Commission 1156 00:56:05,702 --> 00:56:07,670 when they brought an enforcement action 1157 00:56:07,739 --> 00:56:10,238 against these -- the entities 1158 00:56:10,307 --> 00:56:14,242 that were promoting these psychic networks, 1159 00:56:14,311 --> 00:56:17,479 basically as an arm of the court to investigate 1160 00:56:17,548 --> 00:56:20,815 and then report back to the court my findings. 1161 00:56:20,884 --> 00:56:23,584 -It was just a normal day, and the federal agency came in 1162 00:56:23,653 --> 00:56:26,055 and took all the computers, 1163 00:56:26,124 --> 00:56:27,689 I mean, a lot of boxes. 1164 00:56:27,758 --> 00:56:31,792 There was a lot of TV stations and so forth, too. 1165 00:56:31,861 --> 00:56:35,097 -I had an opportunity to spend a good deal of time 1166 00:56:35,166 --> 00:56:36,965 with Miss Cleo herself. 1167 00:56:37,034 --> 00:56:38,933 I asked if I could interview her, 1168 00:56:39,002 --> 00:56:42,837 and she invited me over to her house in Fort Lauderdale. 1169 00:56:42,906 --> 00:56:46,241 She showed me her contract, which she complained about. 1170 00:56:46,310 --> 00:56:49,544 She said, "I signed a really bad contract 1171 00:56:49,613 --> 00:56:51,580 because they're using my name. 1172 00:56:51,649 --> 00:56:53,781 I'm bringing in all this business, 1173 00:56:53,850 --> 00:56:59,421 but I'm getting a salary, basically, and no benefits. 1174 00:56:59,490 --> 00:57:01,656 I'm an independent contractor." 1175 00:57:01,725 --> 00:57:04,860 -Even our current attorney general at the time 1176 00:57:04,929 --> 00:57:07,290 thought I was making far more money 1177 00:57:07,359 --> 00:57:10,098 until I submitted my tax returns. 1178 00:57:10,167 --> 00:57:14,269 And he -- I'll never forget it. He was stunned. 1179 00:57:14,338 --> 00:57:19,708 He was absolutely stunned at what I was being paid 1180 00:57:19,777 --> 00:57:22,510 and how little I was being paid. 1181 00:57:22,579 --> 00:57:24,146 -Yo, Cleo never had a bag? 1182 00:57:24,215 --> 00:57:26,214 I mean, the thing that's going through my head right now 1183 00:57:26,283 --> 00:57:28,683 is the work that she does spiritually, 1184 00:57:28,752 --> 00:57:31,020 if it's real, never makes a lot of money. 1185 00:57:31,089 --> 00:57:32,954 If it's fake, it makes a lot of money. 1186 00:57:33,023 --> 00:57:35,290 -That first commercial that I did for them, 1187 00:57:35,359 --> 00:57:39,861 they paid me $1,750. 1188 00:57:39,930 --> 00:57:44,036 And that commercial made them millions. 1189 00:57:46,002 --> 00:57:48,770 -She didn't even have the right to her own image. 1190 00:57:48,839 --> 00:57:51,572 -At one point in time, it was real clear to me 1191 00:57:51,641 --> 00:57:54,475 that the persona that they wanted to create 1192 00:57:54,544 --> 00:58:00,281 was quite different from the person that was Youree Cleomili. 1193 00:58:00,350 --> 00:58:01,616 It's all about the illusion. 1194 00:58:01,685 --> 00:58:03,285 -And what happened to the accident, man? 1195 00:58:03,354 --> 00:58:05,019 It sort of comes and it goes, doesn't it? 1196 00:58:05,088 --> 00:58:07,888 You know what I mean? -They said, "No, no, no, no, no. 1197 00:58:07,957 --> 00:58:10,292 You know, it's all right. You can use a little patois. 1198 00:58:10,361 --> 00:58:12,161 Let's see how..." And they would -- they would tell me, 1199 00:58:12,230 --> 00:58:14,629 "Dial it up. You know, dial it up. 1200 00:58:14,698 --> 00:58:16,264 You're -- You're getting too passive. 1201 00:58:16,333 --> 00:58:17,765 We want you more animated." 1202 00:58:17,834 --> 00:58:22,103 You know, and I'm -- I'm animated enough. Trust this. 1203 00:58:22,172 --> 00:58:24,473 "You're -- You're -- You're trying to create a character." 1204 00:58:24,542 --> 00:58:28,009 I'm not a character. I'm a -- I'm a -- I'm a real person. 1205 00:58:28,078 --> 00:58:34,882 -Her persona as Miss Cleo became an asset of the company's. 1206 00:58:34,951 --> 00:58:40,823 They basically owned her -- her image and her persona. 1207 00:58:40,892 --> 00:58:42,224 -Not having the money to go up 1208 00:58:42,293 --> 00:58:44,892 against big corporations is very scary. 1209 00:58:44,961 --> 00:58:48,897 And there was no hashtag camaraderie back then. 1210 00:58:48,966 --> 00:58:52,267 -So when your name becomes a brand, 1211 00:58:52,336 --> 00:58:56,808 you really have to have the savvy or the legal counsel. 1212 00:58:59,376 --> 00:59:03,245 There were collection letters that went out with a forgery. 1213 00:59:03,314 --> 00:59:06,046 My name was found to be forged on a number of documents, 1214 00:59:06,115 --> 00:59:10,385 which I didn't find out about until I was deposed. 1215 00:59:10,454 --> 00:59:11,752 -She was a paid employee 1216 00:59:11,821 --> 00:59:13,688 that was a spokesperson for a company, 1217 00:59:13,757 --> 00:59:17,359 and she seemed pretty upset with the company 1218 00:59:17,428 --> 00:59:19,289 the more she learned about it. 1219 00:59:19,358 --> 00:59:20,829 She was part of the marketing. 1220 00:59:20,898 --> 00:59:23,198 I mean, she was in the tarot cards the company sold, 1221 00:59:23,267 --> 00:59:26,368 the game boards they would sell, the ads. 1222 00:59:26,437 --> 00:59:30,305 She was everywhere, but as far as getting a cut 1223 00:59:30,374 --> 00:59:32,975 of the company profits, 1224 00:59:33,044 --> 00:59:34,643 it didn't appear she was getting any of that. 1225 00:59:34,712 --> 00:59:39,647 We could not tie her to the decisions made by the company 1226 00:59:39,716 --> 00:59:41,582 other than being the spokesperson 1227 00:59:41,651 --> 00:59:44,352 for a fraudulent enterprise. 1228 00:59:44,421 --> 00:59:45,553 -Who's running the company? 1229 00:59:45,622 --> 00:59:47,189 Who's collecting the $4.99 a minute? 1230 00:59:47,258 --> 00:59:49,591 That's the person who's running the scam, not Miss Cleo. 1231 00:59:49,660 --> 00:59:53,861 -Does anybody know that there's two guys in Fort Lauderdale 1232 00:59:53,930 --> 00:59:56,731 that were the brains in the operation behind this? 1233 00:59:56,800 --> 01:00:00,135 -She is merely the face of a company 1234 01:00:00,204 --> 01:00:04,639 that I found was owned by two individuals. 1235 01:00:04,708 --> 01:00:06,207 -And so we dropped her from the lawsuit 1236 01:00:06,276 --> 01:00:11,013 and continued the action against the owners of the company 1237 01:00:11,082 --> 01:00:13,015 and the company itself. 1238 01:00:13,084 --> 01:00:17,889 -The two principals were Mr. Feder and Mr. Stolz. 1239 01:00:20,457 --> 01:00:22,223 -A lot of people feared them, 1240 01:00:22,292 --> 01:00:25,627 and not necessarily in a physical threatening way, 1241 01:00:25,696 --> 01:00:27,930 but, you know, they were wealthy 1242 01:00:27,999 --> 01:00:30,165 and powerful in the business world. 1243 01:00:30,234 --> 01:00:31,766 -They weren't the smartest people. 1244 01:00:31,835 --> 01:00:33,168 They weren't the brightest people. 1245 01:00:33,237 --> 01:00:35,069 They weren't the best-looking people. 1246 01:00:35,138 --> 01:00:40,609 The only thing they were interested in was making money. 1247 01:00:40,678 --> 01:00:42,410 -This was a company to try to milk 1248 01:00:42,479 --> 01:00:47,348 as much money from your pocket as possible through deception. 1249 01:00:47,417 --> 01:00:51,619 People who were calling largely were poor, desperate, lonely. 1250 01:00:51,688 --> 01:00:54,155 The company was charging $5 a minute. 1251 01:00:54,224 --> 01:00:58,226 -Living the life of luxury, I'm sure, and hiding behind it. 1252 01:00:58,295 --> 01:01:01,697 It's just...bottom feeders, really. 1253 01:01:01,766 --> 01:01:03,766 It's disgusting. 1254 01:01:03,835 --> 01:01:08,771 ♪♪ 1255 01:01:08,840 --> 01:01:11,206 -The scale was enormous. 1256 01:01:11,275 --> 01:01:16,211 What we found was they had a nationwide network 1257 01:01:16,280 --> 01:01:20,948 of these psychic readers in various cities and towns, 1258 01:01:21,017 --> 01:01:25,921 and they would hire individuals to do gig work. 1259 01:01:25,990 --> 01:01:28,323 But it was very, very widespread. 1260 01:01:28,392 --> 01:01:33,562 They had hundreds and hundreds of these psychic readers. 1261 01:01:33,631 --> 01:01:35,865 People were calling Miss Cleo, 1262 01:01:35,934 --> 01:01:37,867 but they're not getting Miss Cleo. 1263 01:01:37,936 --> 01:01:40,968 They're getting some paid employee 1264 01:01:41,037 --> 01:01:45,174 who was given incentives to take advantage of individuals. 1265 01:01:45,243 --> 01:01:47,676 -They're disgusting human beings. 1266 01:01:47,745 --> 01:01:50,945 -The defendants realized that they were in 1267 01:01:51,014 --> 01:01:56,351 for some real difficulty, and so they cut a deal. 1268 01:01:56,420 --> 01:01:58,988 -Maybe she saw it coming, but Miss Cleo is going to 1269 01:01:59,057 --> 01:02:01,123 have to use her powers to find a new job. 1270 01:02:01,192 --> 01:02:03,358 The companies behind her psychic hotline 1271 01:02:03,427 --> 01:02:05,260 have reached a settlement with the federal government 1272 01:02:05,329 --> 01:02:08,497 that puts her crystal ball in mothballs. 1273 01:02:08,566 --> 01:02:12,067 -The companies agreed to shut down their pay-per-call business 1274 01:02:12,136 --> 01:02:14,069 and make an expensive settlement. 1275 01:02:14,138 --> 01:02:16,638 -The company will cancel half a billion dollars 1276 01:02:16,707 --> 01:02:20,709 it billed to consumers and pay a $5 million fine. 1277 01:02:20,778 --> 01:02:26,181 -But it was estimated that, over a period of years, 1278 01:02:26,250 --> 01:02:30,151 they had billed about $1,000,000,000. 1279 01:02:30,220 --> 01:02:33,255 They were being slapped on the wrist. 1280 01:02:33,324 --> 01:02:36,158 -And those guys -- are they in jail yet? 1281 01:02:36,227 --> 01:02:37,759 They're not gonna be in jail. 1282 01:02:37,828 --> 01:02:40,362 They own a jail in Florida? Probably. 1283 01:02:40,431 --> 01:02:42,564 -The owners of the company were arrested 1284 01:02:42,633 --> 01:02:44,865 in the state of Missouri. 1285 01:02:44,934 --> 01:02:47,669 They were arrested in the morning time, 1286 01:02:47,738 --> 01:02:50,905 and they had a bail hearing, 1287 01:02:50,974 --> 01:02:54,108 and they were back in Florida for dinner. 1288 01:02:54,177 --> 01:02:57,179 -I think they may have tried to survive after that, but they couldn't. 1289 01:02:57,248 --> 01:02:59,847 The negative publicity from these actions 1290 01:02:59,916 --> 01:03:03,318 had to scare a lot of callers away. 1291 01:03:03,387 --> 01:03:08,088 Miss Cleo had become estranged from the company 1292 01:03:08,157 --> 01:03:12,026 at some point in all this, and the company just -- 1293 01:03:12,095 --> 01:03:14,296 I don't think could really survive without her. 1294 01:03:14,365 --> 01:03:17,933 -Did you not hear the news? I've been dismissed. 1295 01:03:18,002 --> 01:03:20,802 But nobody wanted to talk about that. 1296 01:03:20,871 --> 01:03:22,604 Nobody wanted to talk about that. 1297 01:03:22,673 --> 01:03:26,474 And that makes you angry. 1298 01:03:26,543 --> 01:03:29,510 -Hearing that these two random white men 1299 01:03:29,579 --> 01:03:34,883 took advantage of Miss Cleo and millions of people 1300 01:03:34,952 --> 01:03:38,887 around the country, I'm like..."America. 1301 01:03:38,956 --> 01:03:42,327 That just -- there you go, America." 1302 01:03:45,229 --> 01:03:48,831 -Once it was off the front page, if you will, 1303 01:03:48,900 --> 01:03:50,893 people just -- I don't know -- 1304 01:03:50,962 --> 01:03:53,135 they either misremember or they don't know 1305 01:03:53,204 --> 01:03:57,506 and they kind of guess or they listen to... 1306 01:03:57,575 --> 01:04:00,241 what somebody told them some time. 1307 01:04:00,310 --> 01:04:04,179 That's why Cleo always used the word "exonerated," 1308 01:04:04,248 --> 01:04:07,316 which, by that time, nobody was paying attention. 1309 01:04:07,385 --> 01:04:10,085 -I've been called everything from a demon 1310 01:04:10,154 --> 01:04:11,887 by some church shows 1311 01:04:11,956 --> 01:04:13,688 to straight out a fraud. 1312 01:04:13,757 --> 01:04:16,659 Oh, and a thief on top of everything else. 1313 01:04:16,728 --> 01:04:18,126 -A what? -A thief. 1314 01:04:18,195 --> 01:04:20,695 You know, and I am none of those things. 1315 01:04:20,764 --> 01:04:24,827 -I do think she bears some moral and ethical responsibility here. 1316 01:04:24,896 --> 01:04:27,202 You can't put your head in the sand, 1317 01:04:27,271 --> 01:04:30,138 say you don't know what was going on, 1318 01:04:30,207 --> 01:04:31,707 when all these people are being scammed 1319 01:04:31,776 --> 01:04:33,242 and people are being hurt. 1320 01:04:33,311 --> 01:04:36,544 The company thrived because they had a spokesperson 1321 01:04:36,613 --> 01:04:40,082 that was engaging and charismatic and likable, 1322 01:04:40,151 --> 01:04:41,649 and without her, 1323 01:04:41,718 --> 01:04:45,253 would so many people out there have been scammed? 1324 01:04:45,322 --> 01:04:47,690 Would so many people out there have been hurt? 1325 01:04:47,759 --> 01:04:49,124 I-I don't think so. 1326 01:04:49,193 --> 01:04:51,326 -Did you feel at all like you were misleading 1327 01:04:51,395 --> 01:04:53,328 those who trusted you? -No, I did not, 1328 01:04:53,397 --> 01:04:56,865 because everything that I said on the television 1329 01:04:56,934 --> 01:05:00,102 that were my words was real. 1330 01:05:00,171 --> 01:05:02,972 -It's so easy to point the finger at her 1331 01:05:03,041 --> 01:05:05,507 as opposed to the people who were the masterminds 1332 01:05:05,576 --> 01:05:08,510 of the business and who made, you know, 1333 01:05:08,579 --> 01:05:12,847 tremendous amounts of money off of her expertise, really. 1334 01:05:12,916 --> 01:05:19,388 -"Miss Cleo Bilks American Consumer out of $356 Million." 1335 01:05:19,457 --> 01:05:22,257 And I had a nephew that showed up a little bit later 1336 01:05:22,326 --> 01:05:24,292 and said, "Auntie, you've been holding out on me." 1337 01:05:24,361 --> 01:05:26,594 I said, "Look, I want them to tell me where the money is, 1338 01:05:26,663 --> 01:05:30,165 so I can go get it. I'm happy to pay my taxes." 1339 01:05:30,234 --> 01:05:32,834 -If Cleo has a buttload of money stashed somewhere, 1340 01:05:32,903 --> 01:05:36,071 I would probably know it, right? 1341 01:05:36,140 --> 01:05:39,674 She was a roommate at my house. 1342 01:05:39,743 --> 01:05:45,113 -The industry/the media knows what people are gonna watch, 1343 01:05:45,182 --> 01:05:52,182 and it's not a beautiful, kind-hearted conversation 1344 01:05:52,657 --> 01:05:53,989 of positivity. 1345 01:05:54,058 --> 01:05:57,392 It is the rise and fall of a pop star 1346 01:05:57,461 --> 01:06:02,431 and the sex scandal of the high-end media mogul. 1347 01:06:02,500 --> 01:06:05,300 -How they portrayed Cleo destroyed her. 1348 01:06:05,369 --> 01:06:07,235 They took her identity. They took her name. 1349 01:06:07,304 --> 01:06:10,166 They sensationalized her. They villainized her. 1350 01:06:10,235 --> 01:06:13,574 Of course that had an effect on her. How could it not? 1351 01:06:13,643 --> 01:06:19,080 -I surely did believe that, if the truth was there 1352 01:06:19,149 --> 01:06:22,851 in black and white, that, um... 1353 01:06:22,920 --> 01:06:24,520 I'm sorry. 1354 01:06:24,589 --> 01:06:26,125 -It's alright. 1355 01:06:30,327 --> 01:06:35,097 ...that surely people would have sense. 1356 01:06:35,166 --> 01:06:37,500 People would understand. 1357 01:06:37,569 --> 01:06:39,367 [ Sniffles ] 1358 01:06:39,436 --> 01:06:41,637 But that's not the way it goes. 1359 01:06:41,706 --> 01:06:48,706 ♪♪ 1360 01:06:50,181 --> 01:06:57,181 ♪♪ 1361 01:06:58,823 --> 01:07:05,823 ♪♪ 1362 01:07:07,499 --> 01:07:14,499 ♪♪ 1363 01:07:15,773 --> 01:07:22,044 -It's hard to imagine your very identity being questioned. 1364 01:07:22,113 --> 01:07:24,512 "You're not real. That's fake." 1365 01:07:24,581 --> 01:07:27,683 -I stand before you today and proudly proclaim, 1366 01:07:27,752 --> 01:07:29,484 I am a voodoo woman, 1367 01:07:29,553 --> 01:07:32,787 and Y. Cleomili is my name. 1368 01:07:32,856 --> 01:07:37,359 -So that every single time you open your mouth... 1369 01:07:37,428 --> 01:07:39,928 -So you're probably a little bit tired, 1370 01:07:39,997 --> 01:07:41,296 a little bit worn out, 1371 01:07:41,365 --> 01:07:44,399 but I don't want you to be faint of heart. 1372 01:07:44,468 --> 01:07:49,371 -...everywhere you go, as soon as you begin speaking, 1373 01:07:49,440 --> 01:07:54,609 people automatically think you're a fraud. 1374 01:07:54,678 --> 01:07:57,045 -You been to Jamaica? [ Chuckles ] 1375 01:07:57,114 --> 01:07:58,846 No, she wasn't Jamaican. 1376 01:07:58,915 --> 01:08:04,553 -In the Jamaican community. It was just sort of comical 1377 01:08:04,622 --> 01:08:07,823 that there was this person on television 1378 01:08:07,892 --> 01:08:09,490 pretending to be Jamaican. 1379 01:08:09,559 --> 01:08:12,860 And it was obvious to every Jamaican that she was not. 1380 01:08:12,929 --> 01:08:16,131 -Not one time did she not speak with a Jamaican accent 1381 01:08:16,200 --> 01:08:17,766 the whole time I knew her. 1382 01:08:17,835 --> 01:08:23,338 -It's easier for Black people to convince non-Black people 1383 01:08:23,407 --> 01:08:24,906 of their exoticism. 1384 01:08:24,975 --> 01:08:27,909 Whereas, Black folks -- we're gonna be like, "Mm-kay." 1385 01:08:27,978 --> 01:08:34,978 Like, there's a bit more vetting that comes from within. 1386 01:08:36,420 --> 01:08:38,854 What it sounds like is that where she was, 1387 01:08:38,923 --> 01:08:40,422 she wasn't in a Black community. 1388 01:08:40,491 --> 01:08:42,290 It wasn't a whole lot of Black people. 1389 01:08:42,359 --> 01:08:43,958 It was majority white folks. 1390 01:08:44,027 --> 01:08:47,596 It was easy for her to go into the community that she was in, 1391 01:08:47,665 --> 01:08:51,200 that she lived the rest of her life in, 1392 01:08:51,269 --> 01:08:56,204 and convince people of who she wanted to be. 1393 01:08:56,273 --> 01:09:00,242 -So now we're getting a chance to see the cracks in the facade, 1394 01:09:00,311 --> 01:09:01,676 to see the human being. 1395 01:09:01,745 --> 01:09:03,278 -"She wasn't from here. She wasn't from there. 1396 01:09:03,347 --> 01:09:04,980 She didn't do this. We don't know." 1397 01:09:05,049 --> 01:09:07,449 Who cares? I don't care. 1398 01:09:07,518 --> 01:09:11,186 -Love doesn't have an accent. 1399 01:09:11,255 --> 01:09:13,688 Compassion doesn't have an accent. 1400 01:09:13,757 --> 01:09:17,927 -She created this powerful, comfortable character and being. 1401 01:09:17,996 --> 01:09:20,090 I get her. I get it. 1402 01:09:20,159 --> 01:09:21,596 This is her way to be in the world 1403 01:09:21,665 --> 01:09:23,831 and say, "I am worthy. I am valid." 1404 01:09:23,900 --> 01:09:25,800 -When you think about the question of identity 1405 01:09:25,869 --> 01:09:29,304 and who we are and how we become who we are, 1406 01:09:29,373 --> 01:09:33,541 maybe we don't all arrive at it the same way. 1407 01:09:33,610 --> 01:09:35,510 -She was not wanting to come out of her house, 1408 01:09:35,579 --> 01:09:37,578 not wanting anyone to see her. 1409 01:09:37,647 --> 01:09:39,714 We let her know that she wasn't alone, 1410 01:09:39,783 --> 01:09:43,618 that she didn't have to try to tell us who she was 1411 01:09:43,687 --> 01:09:46,588 because we knew who she was, and it was important for us 1412 01:09:46,657 --> 01:09:48,389 to try to get her out of that house 1413 01:09:48,458 --> 01:09:50,459 and start to breathe again. 1414 01:09:50,528 --> 01:09:54,263 Tim, being, so many ways, the big brother -- 1415 01:09:54,332 --> 01:09:56,498 he just wouldn't take no for an answer. 1416 01:09:56,567 --> 01:09:59,501 -We found where she lived and knocked on her door 1417 01:09:59,570 --> 01:10:02,870 and asked her to come to our house one Sunday. 1418 01:10:02,939 --> 01:10:07,543 It took every -- practically wrestling that woman into a car 1419 01:10:07,612 --> 01:10:09,244 to get her to our house. 1420 01:10:09,313 --> 01:10:11,479 The first Sunday she came, 1421 01:10:11,548 --> 01:10:14,749 it was very quiet and very peaceful. 1422 01:10:14,818 --> 01:10:18,386 And we ate and we drank and we talk and we laughed. 1423 01:10:18,455 --> 01:10:21,789 -♪ There's nothing to it ♪ 1424 01:10:21,858 --> 01:10:24,792 ♪ 'Cause I believe I can fly ♪ -Whoo! 1425 01:10:24,861 --> 01:10:27,762 -We started having these Sunday barbecues at our house. 1426 01:10:27,831 --> 01:10:32,968 Cleo showed up one day, and it was almost instantaneous. 1427 01:10:33,037 --> 01:10:35,136 She just -- there was just a connection. 1428 01:10:35,205 --> 01:10:37,872 From that point on, I mean, I saw her every Sunday 1429 01:10:37,941 --> 01:10:42,410 for the next 5 to 6, 7 years, something like that. 1430 01:10:42,479 --> 01:10:44,845 Sunday barbecues were really big at our house, 1431 01:10:44,914 --> 01:10:48,784 and she was the cornerstone to all of that. 1432 01:10:48,853 --> 01:10:54,923 ♪♪ 1433 01:10:54,992 --> 01:11:00,861 ♪♪ 1434 01:11:00,930 --> 01:11:06,567 -When I met her, she was just coming out of seclusion. 1435 01:11:06,636 --> 01:11:12,240 So she had lived for several years as a recluse, 1436 01:11:12,309 --> 01:11:15,447 hidden away from society. 1437 01:11:18,215 --> 01:11:22,150 She was completely silenced. 1438 01:11:22,219 --> 01:11:28,589 And Cleo -- that's not her natural way of living. 1439 01:11:28,658 --> 01:11:32,222 And then she found my coffee house, and there she was. 1440 01:11:32,291 --> 01:11:35,630 It was kind of a-a safe place for her. 1441 01:11:35,699 --> 01:11:39,167 -♪ Left a good job in the city ♪ 1442 01:11:39,236 --> 01:11:40,768 -When I had my coffee house, 1443 01:11:40,837 --> 01:11:45,540 it was quite a quirky, weird little place. 1444 01:11:45,609 --> 01:11:49,444 -Cleo latched onto that place. 1445 01:11:49,513 --> 01:11:51,574 -♪ For the answers for all them ♪ 1446 01:11:51,643 --> 01:11:57,681 -Mother Earth was our local LGBT-friendly coffee shop. 1447 01:11:57,750 --> 01:12:03,091 ♪♪ 1448 01:12:03,160 --> 01:12:08,496 ♪♪ 1449 01:12:08,565 --> 01:12:11,599 I was organizing in Palm Beach County 1450 01:12:11,668 --> 01:12:16,971 with a small group of activists for LGBT equality, 1451 01:12:17,040 --> 01:12:21,809 and I wanted to go south and do the same in Broward County. 1452 01:12:21,878 --> 01:12:26,042 So I asked, "Who out there can help me organize Broward County 1453 01:12:26,111 --> 01:12:29,384 to fight for equal rights?" 1454 01:12:29,453 --> 01:12:32,920 Cleo said she would do it. 1455 01:12:32,989 --> 01:12:35,691 She was one of the few people that raised her hand 1456 01:12:35,760 --> 01:12:38,826 and said, "I'll -- I'll help." 1457 01:12:38,895 --> 01:12:42,965 I quickly figured out that Cleo was the activist type. 1458 01:12:43,034 --> 01:12:44,833 -At the time, 2005-2006, 1459 01:12:44,902 --> 01:12:46,701 different bills were being passed 1460 01:12:46,770 --> 01:12:48,636 and introduced in the state of Florida. 1461 01:12:48,705 --> 01:12:52,307 She was sick of it and was like, "I need to do something." 1462 01:12:52,376 --> 01:12:55,142 -She wanted to go "catch a fire," 1463 01:12:55,211 --> 01:12:59,414 which I think is Jamaican for when they wanted to raise hell. 1464 01:12:59,483 --> 01:13:01,882 -I was very active in the state of Florida, 1465 01:13:01,951 --> 01:13:05,553 standing up for things that I perceive are -- are right 1466 01:13:05,622 --> 01:13:07,822 and correct and -- and good. 1467 01:13:07,891 --> 01:13:09,490 -She wanted to make a difference, 1468 01:13:09,559 --> 01:13:11,893 and she knew how to move people. 1469 01:13:11,962 --> 01:13:14,696 She felt like she needed to use what her gift was 1470 01:13:14,765 --> 01:13:16,799 to help the community, to help move people 1471 01:13:16,868 --> 01:13:18,266 in the right direction. 1472 01:13:18,335 --> 01:13:21,673 [ Indistinct conversation ] 1473 01:13:24,675 --> 01:13:27,575 -What's up, mofos? -Hi. 1474 01:13:27,644 --> 01:13:29,344 -What, Mom? -Hi, sweetheart. 1475 01:13:29,413 --> 01:13:31,446 -Remind me to tell you the balance of it. 1476 01:13:31,515 --> 01:13:33,848 -So I'm cooking some tilapia. 1477 01:13:33,917 --> 01:13:36,784 And she introduced me to the community, 1478 01:13:36,853 --> 01:13:39,755 and she took me to my first Pride March, 1479 01:13:39,824 --> 01:13:42,657 working for Equality Florida, 1480 01:13:42,726 --> 01:13:46,294 trying to collect signatures to stop an Amendment 2 1481 01:13:46,363 --> 01:13:47,795 to from appearing on the ballot, 1482 01:13:47,864 --> 01:13:50,031 which was basically an anti-gay-marriage bill 1483 01:13:50,100 --> 01:13:52,662 that existed before the Supreme Court decision. 1484 01:13:52,731 --> 01:13:56,166 Really, that was my first exposure to the gay community. 1485 01:13:56,235 --> 01:13:58,073 She would call me her godson. 1486 01:13:58,142 --> 01:14:02,711 It was like she is my guardian, and I am her son, 1487 01:14:02,780 --> 01:14:04,580 but, like, in a spiritual sense. 1488 01:14:04,649 --> 01:14:06,081 I was already a nerdy kid. 1489 01:14:06,150 --> 01:14:09,284 I didn't want to add more kind of like -- 1490 01:14:09,353 --> 01:14:10,552 be identifying with something 1491 01:14:10,621 --> 01:14:13,422 that would make me more ostracized. 1492 01:14:13,491 --> 01:14:16,924 But, you know, I already knew by the time I was, you know, 1493 01:14:16,993 --> 01:14:19,094 figuring out who I liked to look at, I was looking at boys. 1494 01:14:19,163 --> 01:14:22,130 I actually knew probably for a few years 1495 01:14:22,199 --> 01:14:25,567 before I actually came out, and I came out at 16. 1496 01:14:25,636 --> 01:14:27,602 -When Cleo helped him, 1497 01:14:27,671 --> 01:14:29,837 ultimately, they helped each other. 1498 01:14:29,906 --> 01:14:33,108 -And it was Matt's coming out that was her impetus 1499 01:14:33,177 --> 01:14:38,180 to -- to come out, because she -- she couldn't live 1500 01:14:38,249 --> 01:14:39,747 the lie any longer. 1501 01:14:39,816 --> 01:14:42,850 -She says, "If Matt can do it, I can do it." 1502 01:14:42,919 --> 01:14:46,788 -She told me that she was going to publicly come out 1503 01:14:46,857 --> 01:14:48,924 and that she had actually mentioned me 1504 01:14:48,993 --> 01:14:51,587 in this article for "The Advocate." 1505 01:14:51,656 --> 01:14:55,430 I remember her being really excited about it 1506 01:14:55,499 --> 01:14:58,194 and feeling like she had the space 1507 01:14:58,263 --> 01:14:59,967 to actually tell her story. 1508 01:15:00,036 --> 01:15:04,039 It felt absolutely amazing. People were appreciative. 1509 01:15:04,108 --> 01:15:07,142 People were lovely, very, very supportive. 1510 01:15:07,211 --> 01:15:08,909 -But, like, she kind of, like, whispered it to me 1511 01:15:08,978 --> 01:15:11,546 and I was like, "Wait, what?" -I heard she was family. 1512 01:15:11,615 --> 01:15:16,384 Then I heard she was a part of the LGBTQ plus XYZ community. 1513 01:15:16,453 --> 01:15:18,787 Yes, go ahead, Miss Cleo. 1514 01:15:18,856 --> 01:15:21,256 -It's -- It's hard to -- to try to imagine 1515 01:15:21,325 --> 01:15:23,253 what things must've been like for Cleo, 1516 01:15:23,322 --> 01:15:25,226 because we were so different. 1517 01:15:25,295 --> 01:15:26,995 I'm a white, gay dude. 1518 01:15:27,064 --> 01:15:30,431 That's, like, a very different space to grow up 1519 01:15:30,500 --> 01:15:32,834 than -- in the -- in the 2000's -- 1520 01:15:32,903 --> 01:15:36,238 than a Black lesbian woman in the '70s, right? 1521 01:15:36,307 --> 01:15:42,610 ♪♪ 1522 01:15:42,679 --> 01:15:45,380 -Well, my name now is Matt Sheridan, 1523 01:15:45,449 --> 01:15:49,351 but when I was with Cleo, my name was MaryAnn Sheridan, 1524 01:15:49,420 --> 01:15:52,387 because I was a lesbian when I was with Cleo, 1525 01:15:52,456 --> 01:15:55,690 and I am a transgender man now. [ Laughs ] 1526 01:15:55,759 --> 01:15:59,660 I felt just as secure with her, really, as she did with me, 1527 01:15:59,729 --> 01:16:01,130 'cause I needed that, too, you know? 1528 01:16:01,199 --> 01:16:02,830 I mean, I needed that, and she was there. 1529 01:16:02,899 --> 01:16:04,932 She was very supportive of anything 1530 01:16:05,001 --> 01:16:07,135 I wanted to do in my life or what I was doing, 1531 01:16:07,204 --> 01:16:08,969 my dreams, my aspirations, whatever. 1532 01:16:09,038 --> 01:16:11,139 We bounced stuff off of each other all the time. 1533 01:16:11,208 --> 01:16:12,940 You know, we did the Pride Festival. 1534 01:16:13,009 --> 01:16:16,043 She was the master of ceremonies, so that was fun. 1535 01:16:16,112 --> 01:16:18,680 We didn't -- We didn't do a whole bunch of stuff, 1536 01:16:18,749 --> 01:16:20,082 but we didn't need to. 1537 01:16:20,151 --> 01:16:22,183 When she cooked, too, she was an awesome cook. 1538 01:16:22,252 --> 01:16:24,319 I mean, she's the one that got me hooked on sweet potato pie. 1539 01:16:24,388 --> 01:16:27,988 And I said to her, "This is my first interracial relationship." 1540 01:16:28,057 --> 01:16:31,326 She didn't believe me. She said, "I don't believe you." 1541 01:16:31,395 --> 01:16:33,928 I said, "I'm telling you." I said, "Wait, no. 1542 01:16:33,997 --> 01:16:37,132 Technically, it is, but I had this really vivid, 1543 01:16:37,201 --> 01:16:39,134 realistic dream with Janet Jackson," 1544 01:16:39,203 --> 01:16:42,304 so after I told her that, she got jealous -- 1545 01:16:42,373 --> 01:16:43,938 jealous of Janet. 1546 01:16:44,007 --> 01:16:47,175 I was like, "It was a dream, but it was realistic." 1547 01:16:47,244 --> 01:16:50,411 -Cleo, Come on, girl, You can't be mad at that. 1548 01:16:50,480 --> 01:16:53,881 It's Janet. I'm -- I'm -- She got a baby at about 65, 1549 01:16:53,950 --> 01:16:55,584 and I'm still like, "Hey, honey, I'll be right back." 1550 01:16:55,653 --> 01:16:57,085 Like, come on, it's Janet. 1551 01:16:57,154 --> 01:16:59,349 -We had a great time. We did. 1552 01:16:59,418 --> 01:17:00,722 The only reason we parted ways 1553 01:17:00,791 --> 01:17:02,157 is because we just had a little difference. 1554 01:17:02,226 --> 01:17:03,825 She was more want to be out and about, 1555 01:17:03,894 --> 01:17:06,026 of course, probably because of her newfound freedom. 1556 01:17:06,095 --> 01:17:08,429 "I want to be out and about. I'm out of the cage." 1557 01:17:08,498 --> 01:17:12,701 -You know, she wanted to kind of come out of seclusion 1558 01:17:12,770 --> 01:17:14,336 and start living, you know? 1559 01:17:14,405 --> 01:17:20,141 -I was being entertained to do a reality TV dating show... 1560 01:17:20,210 --> 01:17:22,610 [ Laughs ] 1561 01:17:22,679 --> 01:17:24,980 ...where they were gonna find Miss Cleo a girlfriend, 1562 01:17:25,049 --> 01:17:27,882 'cause at the time, I didn't have one. 1563 01:17:27,951 --> 01:17:32,153 Before I got much more into setting up the pilot, 1564 01:17:32,222 --> 01:17:34,456 I met my -- my present partner, so... 1565 01:17:34,525 --> 01:17:36,023 [ Laughs ] 1566 01:17:36,092 --> 01:17:41,130 ...she saved me from weeks of kissing, you know, strangers. 1567 01:17:41,199 --> 01:17:43,566 I don't know. -I think if Cleo had 1568 01:17:43,635 --> 01:17:45,266 a love of her life, 1569 01:17:45,335 --> 01:17:50,242 the one who came closest to that was Lou. 1570 01:17:52,176 --> 01:17:56,611 -I went for a walk to the coffee shop. 1571 01:17:56,680 --> 01:18:03,218 Patti was outside, talking to this amazing-looking woman 1572 01:18:03,287 --> 01:18:10,092 that I didn't recognize, but just beaming smile. 1573 01:18:10,161 --> 01:18:12,827 I was immediately attracted to her. 1574 01:18:12,896 --> 01:18:15,998 Patti introduced her to me as Miss Cleo. 1575 01:18:16,067 --> 01:18:18,032 I never put two and two together, 1576 01:18:18,101 --> 01:18:22,169 but Patti then went inside and let us alone to chat, 1577 01:18:22,238 --> 01:18:25,606 and we just ended up laughing together and having some fun. 1578 01:18:25,675 --> 01:18:29,844 When I met her, I had just come out, and I was 61. 1579 01:18:29,913 --> 01:18:36,050 Then I met Miss Cleo, my first relationship. 1580 01:18:36,119 --> 01:18:40,322 I was just so thrilled because she was so interesting, 1581 01:18:40,391 --> 01:18:45,627 and I was thinking, "What in the world would she see in me, 1582 01:18:45,696 --> 01:18:48,698 this white woman from Wisconsin?" 1583 01:18:48,767 --> 01:18:50,732 I couldn't put that together, 1584 01:18:50,801 --> 01:18:52,801 but she thought that I was funny. 1585 01:18:52,870 --> 01:18:55,403 She loved me. 1586 01:18:55,472 --> 01:19:00,002 -I just kind of watched it unfold, and it was beautiful. 1587 01:19:00,071 --> 01:19:04,779 I think that there were so many things on Cleo's list 1588 01:19:04,848 --> 01:19:07,082 that she could check off with Lou. 1589 01:19:07,151 --> 01:19:12,154 -I do believe that, when you are ready, 1590 01:19:12,223 --> 01:19:14,723 that those things do come to you. 1591 01:19:14,792 --> 01:19:16,919 It wasn't a coincidence, 1592 01:19:16,988 --> 01:19:20,829 and I don't necessarily believe in fate either. 1593 01:19:20,898 --> 01:19:23,165 -Time is manmade. Time is elusive. 1594 01:19:23,234 --> 01:19:25,934 People say, "Can you fall in love at first sight?" 1595 01:19:26,003 --> 01:19:28,202 Absolutely, you can. 1596 01:19:28,271 --> 01:19:31,772 -They kind of moved around each other very, very smoothly. 1597 01:19:31,841 --> 01:19:37,045 They appeared to kind of enjoy being in each other's presence. 1598 01:19:37,114 --> 01:19:40,916 -So was she ready for me? Apparently so. 1599 01:19:40,985 --> 01:19:44,056 And I was most certainly ready for her. 1600 01:19:46,257 --> 01:19:51,960 The story about Cleo was she was a deeply feeling person, 1601 01:19:52,029 --> 01:19:58,066 felt pain, emotional pain, like everybody else. 1602 01:19:58,135 --> 01:20:00,368 I loved all of those things about her, 1603 01:20:00,437 --> 01:20:07,437 but the gift that she had was a gift and a burden. 1604 01:20:08,880 --> 01:20:11,016 It was difficult. 1605 01:20:13,850 --> 01:20:17,285 -I could see where people would judge her. 1606 01:20:17,354 --> 01:20:21,390 But, you know, if we're going with the assumption 1607 01:20:21,459 --> 01:20:24,293 that the reason that she cultivated Miss Cleo 1608 01:20:24,362 --> 01:20:27,129 was to deal with the wound of that deep trauma 1609 01:20:27,198 --> 01:20:32,234 that she had experienced, like, she found an outlet. 1610 01:20:32,303 --> 01:20:34,573 And that's what we do as human beings. 1611 01:20:36,340 --> 01:20:38,701 -She made something of herself, 1612 01:20:38,770 --> 01:20:40,042 and you have to as a Black woman. 1613 01:20:40,111 --> 01:20:44,880 She said, "I am not about to sit here and... 1614 01:20:44,949 --> 01:20:47,382 not do something about this." 1615 01:20:47,451 --> 01:20:51,486 -I've sympathized with her over the years as well, 1616 01:20:51,555 --> 01:20:55,857 because I imagine that she moved through life 1617 01:20:55,926 --> 01:20:57,927 with a certain level of heaviness 1618 01:20:57,996 --> 01:21:00,128 that she couldn't lift. 1619 01:21:00,197 --> 01:21:03,531 If I can balance my recollections of her 1620 01:21:03,600 --> 01:21:06,835 with acknowledging that there are ways 1621 01:21:06,904 --> 01:21:08,870 in which she caused people pain, 1622 01:21:08,939 --> 01:21:12,475 but there are also ways in which she brought people joy, 1623 01:21:12,544 --> 01:21:14,075 then I'm okay with that. 1624 01:21:14,144 --> 01:21:16,211 I think, for me as an adult now, 1625 01:21:16,280 --> 01:21:19,180 I understand a little bit better, perhaps, 1626 01:21:19,249 --> 01:21:21,851 what it must have been like to be her. 1627 01:21:21,920 --> 01:21:24,252 -So there's all the wounds, right? 1628 01:21:24,321 --> 01:21:30,860 All the damage, and then on the flip side of that, 1629 01:21:30,929 --> 01:21:36,531 is this heart that loves fiercely. 1630 01:21:36,600 --> 01:21:40,535 -But I think her trauma was driven. 1631 01:21:40,604 --> 01:21:45,107 Her trauma was truly driven to become who she was. 1632 01:21:45,176 --> 01:21:47,209 If she were here today, I think she would say 1633 01:21:47,278 --> 01:21:51,212 it wasn't her intention to hurt people. 1634 01:21:51,281 --> 01:21:55,316 -How our relationship ended is not fully known to me. 1635 01:21:55,385 --> 01:21:57,452 We had a great relationship. 1636 01:21:57,521 --> 01:22:02,257 But, you know, I probably would say, the last couple years, 1637 01:22:02,326 --> 01:22:07,930 it was closer to roommate than a romantic relationship. 1638 01:22:07,999 --> 01:22:10,093 We were starting to get distanced now. 1639 01:22:10,162 --> 01:22:13,234 She was starting to be away from the house more. 1640 01:22:13,303 --> 01:22:15,170 She was going over to a friend's house, 1641 01:22:15,239 --> 01:22:18,302 and before I knew it, she said, "I'm moving out." 1642 01:22:18,371 --> 01:22:25,371 ♪♪ 1643 01:22:26,517 --> 01:22:28,183 -She told me about this dream, 1644 01:22:28,252 --> 01:22:30,651 and there would be an elderly woman sitting in a chair 1645 01:22:30,720 --> 01:22:35,018 that's off in a distance, like in a cloudy, hazy... 1646 01:22:35,087 --> 01:22:37,287 And she would started to walk up to this woman 1647 01:22:37,356 --> 01:22:40,395 and the woman yelled back at her, "What are you doing here? 1648 01:22:40,464 --> 01:22:43,135 You're not supposed to be here yet." 1649 01:22:45,903 --> 01:22:47,402 And that's when she woke up, 1650 01:22:47,471 --> 01:22:53,375 and she really felt that she was gone at that point. 1651 01:22:53,444 --> 01:22:56,979 You know, she had no fear of it happening. 1652 01:22:57,048 --> 01:23:04,048 ♪♪ 1653 01:23:05,089 --> 01:23:07,555 -This is your godmother. 1654 01:23:07,624 --> 01:23:10,525 I'm gonna try and see if you're gonna be home. 1655 01:23:10,594 --> 01:23:13,098 Call me back, though, eh? Bye-bye. 1656 01:23:14,864 --> 01:23:19,334 -I didn't even know that she had cancer. 1657 01:23:19,403 --> 01:23:25,936 From what I heard, she had gone on a trip to the Bahamas 1658 01:23:26,005 --> 01:23:31,579 as kind of a last trip of her life. 1659 01:23:31,648 --> 01:23:34,850 And they didn't -- they didn't make it. 1660 01:23:34,919 --> 01:23:37,180 She had to come back. 1661 01:23:37,249 --> 01:23:41,323 -She called me just before she went into hospice, 1662 01:23:41,392 --> 01:23:45,297 and she just wanted to say goodbye. 1663 01:23:46,530 --> 01:23:49,097 I just said, "I so appreciate 1664 01:23:49,166 --> 01:23:51,266 everything that you've done for me. 1665 01:23:51,335 --> 01:23:53,672 I am so grateful." 1666 01:23:56,340 --> 01:23:59,244 My life was forever changed. 1667 01:24:03,214 --> 01:24:06,916 -We all went up to the hospital. 1668 01:24:06,985 --> 01:24:08,683 -I was like, "Fuck, like, that's -- 1669 01:24:08,752 --> 01:24:10,419 I'm -- I'll meet you right there." 1670 01:24:10,488 --> 01:24:12,687 I just started heading south. 1671 01:24:12,756 --> 01:24:15,791 -I was wondering, like, you know, "Should I go out there? 1672 01:24:15,860 --> 01:24:17,292 Can I go out there?" 1673 01:24:17,361 --> 01:24:19,327 -I probably got to Jacksonville, 1674 01:24:19,396 --> 01:24:21,396 and my mom called me and she said.... 1675 01:24:21,465 --> 01:24:23,498 -"Don't come. Turn around. 1676 01:24:23,567 --> 01:24:25,801 This can not be your last memory. 1677 01:24:25,870 --> 01:24:27,135 Turn around." 1678 01:24:27,204 --> 01:24:29,371 -'Cause she's so far gone at this point 1679 01:24:29,440 --> 01:24:33,108 that she's not even really able to recognize us. 1680 01:24:33,177 --> 01:24:36,344 -I kissed Cleo's cheek. 1681 01:24:36,413 --> 01:24:37,946 I told her we loved her, 1682 01:24:38,015 --> 01:24:40,983 and I know that she could hear us and feel us. 1683 01:24:41,052 --> 01:24:47,389 ♪♪ 1684 01:24:47,458 --> 01:24:50,558 Till the next time. 1685 01:24:50,627 --> 01:24:55,530 -Well-known TV psychic Miss Cleo died today in Palm Beach County. 1686 01:24:55,599 --> 01:24:57,098 Terry Parker joins us live from Lake Worth. 1687 01:24:57,167 --> 01:25:00,235 Terry, I know you spoke with a friend of Miss Cleo's. 1688 01:25:00,304 --> 01:25:05,675 -She was funny and boisterous and, um... 1689 01:25:05,744 --> 01:25:07,576 uh... 1690 01:25:07,645 --> 01:25:11,179 Was kind of a rebel at heart. 1691 01:25:11,248 --> 01:25:16,719 ♪♪ 1692 01:25:16,788 --> 01:25:21,823 ♪♪ 1693 01:25:21,892 --> 01:25:26,561 -It was a being she took on personally, psychologically, 1694 01:25:26,630 --> 01:25:28,797 emotionally, and invested in. 1695 01:25:28,866 --> 01:25:30,894 That's why we were invested. Was it accurate? 1696 01:25:30,963 --> 01:25:32,501 Did it always come true? No. 1697 01:25:32,570 --> 01:25:35,203 But did she make you feel good in that moment? 1698 01:25:35,272 --> 01:25:36,671 Did she make you feel that 1699 01:25:36,740 --> 01:25:39,540 you can turn that into your own personal reality? 1700 01:25:39,609 --> 01:25:44,379 -Was it, you know, performative? Yes. 1701 01:25:44,448 --> 01:25:47,617 Was she actually, you know, trying to help people? 1702 01:25:47,686 --> 01:25:49,818 Yes, again. 1703 01:25:49,887 --> 01:25:53,422 -What she gave to the camera, she gave in real life. 1704 01:25:53,491 --> 01:25:56,219 -You got to see the vulnerable pieces of her. 1705 01:25:56,288 --> 01:25:59,561 -I want people to change their mind about Cleo. 1706 01:25:59,630 --> 01:26:05,400 I want people to see how -- how real this is. 1707 01:26:05,469 --> 01:26:08,837 I don't want her to be a cliché. 1708 01:26:08,906 --> 01:26:15,477 The real story from beginning of difficulty and heartbreak 1709 01:26:15,546 --> 01:26:20,249 and yet her ability to give and to help people. 1710 01:26:20,318 --> 01:26:26,922 -And whatever happened that allowed our union to be made, 1711 01:26:26,991 --> 01:26:28,456 what a gift. 1712 01:26:28,525 --> 01:26:32,527 What she gave us is better than anything in life 1713 01:26:32,596 --> 01:26:36,831 that you could desire to accumulate -- wisdom. 1714 01:26:36,900 --> 01:26:43,205 -In between all of the parodies, in between all of the lawsuits, 1715 01:26:43,274 --> 01:26:46,576 in between all of the scamming, there was a golden truth 1716 01:26:46,645 --> 01:26:48,304 that outweighed it all. 1717 01:26:48,373 --> 01:26:50,178 -I had someone say to me once, "Well, Miss Cleo, 1718 01:26:50,247 --> 01:26:52,313 it's not so much that you tell everybody what they do, 1719 01:26:52,382 --> 01:26:55,483 but you inspire them." 1720 01:26:55,552 --> 01:27:00,322 So perhaps it's nothing more than that for any of us. 1721 01:27:00,391 --> 01:27:02,390 Perhaps it's nothing more than that. 1722 01:27:02,459 --> 01:27:05,593 -Her desire and her want for herself 1723 01:27:05,662 --> 01:27:07,663 became her want for the world -- 1724 01:27:07,732 --> 01:27:11,466 to be loved, to be validated, 1725 01:27:11,535 --> 01:27:15,403 and to find a place that was a safe haven within you 1726 01:27:15,472 --> 01:27:17,642 for your own success. 1727 01:27:19,609 --> 01:27:21,544 And I think that's greater than any psychic ability 1728 01:27:21,613 --> 01:27:23,846 on this fucking planet. 1729 01:27:23,915 --> 01:27:25,180 -Some call me the devil. 1730 01:27:25,249 --> 01:27:28,316 They wave their Bibles and curse the ground I walk. 1731 01:27:28,385 --> 01:27:31,314 My response? Never what they expect. 1732 01:27:31,383 --> 01:27:33,855 I travel with an entourage you cannot see. 1733 01:27:33,924 --> 01:27:36,425 Trips to the cemetery just before midnight 1734 01:27:36,494 --> 01:27:39,860 with offerings of music, drink, and lots of sweets, 1735 01:27:39,929 --> 01:27:43,165 making it possible for me to reach out and touch you, 1736 01:27:43,234 --> 01:27:45,700 no matter the country or city. 1737 01:27:45,769 --> 01:27:48,437 Can't care what you believe. It's all about what I believe. 1738 01:27:48,506 --> 01:27:51,706 But I thought you know -- warlocks, wizards, 1739 01:27:51,775 --> 01:27:55,143 masquerading as magicians and illusionists, 1740 01:27:55,212 --> 01:27:57,812 they're all real, too. 1741 01:27:57,881 --> 01:28:01,849 A most exquisite coup d'état, convincing people 1742 01:28:01,918 --> 01:28:06,154 that witches and warlocks and magic doesn't really exist. 1743 01:28:06,223 --> 01:28:08,123 How is ignorance so bliss? 1744 01:28:08,192 --> 01:28:09,691 Got an itch, an upset stomach, 1745 01:28:09,760 --> 01:28:12,026 or a headache so bad you can hardly see? 1746 01:28:12,095 --> 01:28:16,065 Doctors can't find a reason. Sounds like voodoo to me. 1747 01:28:16,134 --> 01:28:17,532 Laugh if you want, 1748 01:28:17,601 --> 01:28:20,002 mock us if you dare, but don't come crying to me 1749 01:28:20,071 --> 01:28:21,502 when you start to lose all your hair. 1750 01:28:21,571 --> 01:28:24,606 And for the record, voodoo is not bad. 1751 01:28:24,675 --> 01:28:27,442 It can heal your body, protect your home, 1752 01:28:27,511 --> 01:28:30,011 quiet your soul, block your enemy, 1753 01:28:30,080 --> 01:28:33,414 keep you connected with loved ones on the other side 1754 01:28:33,483 --> 01:28:35,584 so you don't have to feel alone. 1755 01:28:35,653 --> 01:28:38,085 Rude bwoy, fass gyal, poor man, rich man, 1756 01:28:38,154 --> 01:28:42,157 my little black book holds more secrets than Heidi Fleiss 1757 01:28:42,226 --> 01:28:44,029 and the DC Madam. 1758 01:28:47,031 --> 01:28:49,164 What threat do I pose, and to who? 1759 01:28:49,233 --> 01:28:53,001 See here, my dears, I've got nothing to prove. 1760 01:28:53,070 --> 01:28:56,466 Be slow to criticize what you don't understand, 1761 01:28:56,535 --> 01:28:58,607 lest the hair you lost will start to grow back 1762 01:28:58,676 --> 01:29:01,242 in the palm of your hand. 1763 01:29:01,311 --> 01:29:02,610 Throughout Jah's land, 1764 01:29:02,679 --> 01:29:05,047 from continent to continent, we are spread. 1765 01:29:05,116 --> 01:29:06,609 Our task is great. 1766 01:29:06,678 --> 01:29:09,784 So even if you kill me, those who are left to carry on 1767 01:29:09,853 --> 01:29:12,220 have no problem chatting with the dead. 1768 01:29:12,289 --> 01:29:15,323 [ Laughs ] 1769 01:29:15,392 --> 01:29:16,858 I don't want you to cry. 1770 01:29:16,927 --> 01:29:19,160 I want to try and say something to make you stop crying. 1771 01:29:19,229 --> 01:29:20,695 I want you to feel stronger. 1772 01:29:20,764 --> 01:29:23,030 I want you to feel more empowered. 1773 01:29:23,099 --> 01:29:26,468 It's okay if you feel a little bit lost right now, 1774 01:29:26,537 --> 01:29:28,503 because later, you're gonna find yourself 1775 01:29:28,572 --> 01:29:31,072 and you can take back your power. 1776 01:29:31,141 --> 01:29:36,479 Do not feel like a victim to any situation or to any one. 1777 01:29:36,548 --> 01:29:38,446 I am what you see today, 1778 01:29:38,515 --> 01:29:42,851 and I will probably be that way until I'm ready to cross over, 1779 01:29:42,920 --> 01:29:47,122 and will probably stay that same way, even on crossover. 1780 01:29:47,191 --> 01:29:50,553 Because that's what I do. I take care of people. 1781 01:29:50,622 --> 01:29:54,696 I don't work for the living. I work for the dead. 1782 01:29:54,765 --> 01:29:56,631 The living can't tell me anything. 1783 01:29:56,700 --> 01:29:59,468 You know, the dead -- they always have good intent. 1784 01:29:59,537 --> 01:30:02,938 [ Laughs ] 1785 01:30:03,007 --> 01:30:12,684 ♪♪