Whatever Happened to Miss Cleo?

If you are old enough, you surely remember the Psychic Friends Network and their spokeswoman Miss Cleo. She was all over your TV in the ‘90s.

Born Youree Dell Harris, Cleo was the ostensibly Jamaican frontwoman for the Psychic Readers Network who became a cultural touchstone thanks to her colorful outfits, which exuded Afrocentricity, her occasionally questionable patois, and her memorable “Call me now!” exhortation. Miss Cleo's commercials were outlandish (Cleo: “He’s getting frustrated with this [relationship].” Caller: "He told me that.” Cleo: “Well, [that’s] because you have sex with your eyes closed. You’re scared to death, mama.” Caller: “You hit the nail on the head, perfectly”), but they were always powered by an overwhelming feeling of warmth and levity. Cleo became a ubiquitous mainstay of early millennial television.

Then, in February of 2002, the bottom fell out. The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Cleo and the Psychic Readers Network, alleging that they made over $1 billion by employing a host of shady tricks, including misrepresenting the nature of the “free” readings offered, failing to make required cost disclosures in ads, and threatening to report negative information to credit bureaus should a caller refuse to pay, among other misdeeds.

Miss Cleo herself was dropped from the suit, as it was determined that she was just a company employee. What’s happened to her since then? Vice got an interview with Miss Cleo in Toronto and found out what her life as a psychic was like and how the whole adventure affected her life. -via Digg

(Image credit: Kadeem Ellis)