A 'Miss Cleo' Documentary Is in Production
Production has begun on a documentary from nonfiction entertainment studio XTR about ’90s late-night TV psychic Youree Dell Harris, better known as "Miss Cleo," who rose to fame with commercials promising “the cards don’t lie.” Deadline first reported the news about the biopic, which looks to chronicle her ascent and eventual downfall as the face of a billion-dollar fraud investigation in 2002.
“Claiming to be a shaman from Jamaica, Miss Cleo’s charisma and famous imperatives enabled the Psychic Readers Network, a pay-per-call service, to charge callers seeking answers over $1 billion for advice,” XTR said. “But in 2002 it all came crashing down when the Federal Trade Commission accused the network and its owners of deceptive advertising, billing, and collection practices, bringing Miss Cleo’s reign as queen of clairvoyance to a dramatic end.”
Harris came out in The Advocate as a lesbian in 2006 after being encouraged to do so by her godson. While she spoke about how coming out was liberating, she still had fears that she wouldn’t be accepted by friends and loved ones.
“I have family members who will be shocked; they don’t know. I have some family members who are very close to me, and they do know. But I’ve been afraid of the wrath, of the exile,” she said at the time. “I had a number of friends who turned their backs on me and walked away. That was really intense. I really believed they were my friends.”
Harris died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 53.
https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2022/2/17/miss-cleo-documentary-production
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