Miss Cleo, ’90s TV Psychic, Will Be The Subject Of A New Documentary
TV psychic Miss Cleo from the 1990s will now have a documentary to explore her life and career.
According to Deadline, the nonfiction entertainment studio XTR and production company Majority announced that they are in production on a film about the famous tarot card reader (born Youree Dell Harris), who later became in the middle of a billion-dollar fraud investigation.
Miss Cleo’s prominent television presence came in the form of ads that offered to tell people’s fortunes through a pay-per-call number.
“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 shared. “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.”
In 2016, Miss Cleo died of cancer at age 53.
Award-winning filmmaker Senain Kheshgi is directing the documentary and is reportedly interviewing “subjects throughout Miss Cleo’s past” for the project.
“Youree Harris may have been an accomplice or perhaps a victim in the Psychic Reader’s Network fraud but she also had talent and personality, which for women doesn’t always translate into access or wealth,” Kheshgi said in a statement. “Her story is an example of how brown and Black women have historically been marginalized and exotified in society and popular culture. The enduring image of the dark, mystical woman still continues to perpetuate this stereotype. As a woman of color and a director who wants to explore stories from diverse perspectives, I am moved by how Youree found a way to navigate her life on her own terms.”
It’s unclear when the Miss Cleo documentary will be released.
