The Lady of Rage is revisiting her acting chops for a new biopic role.
The Lady of Rage to Portray TV Psychic Miss Cleo in New Movie
On Tuesday (July 23), Lifetime network shared the trailer for the upcoming biopic, titled Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall, which shows the former Death Row Records rapper depicting the tarot card-reading psychic, who offered free calls to infomercial viewers to have their fortune read in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Miss Cleo, who spoke with a very heavy Jamaican accent, was an L.A. native. And in the film, a relative of Cleo’s calls her out for allegedly “mocking” her Jamaican heritage. The biopic also uncovers Miss Cleo’s deceitful success, noting that she was bringing in $24 million at one point for the Psychic Readers Network where she was employed. However, it appears in the movie that Miss Cleo, born Youree Dell Harris, was unfazed by her problematic dishonesty because it allowed her, a single mother, to pay her bills and provide for her children. Miss Cleo’s fall came when she was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for fraud, which is also highlighted in the Lifetime film.
Rage, born Robin Allen, previously acted in films such as Next Friday, Ride, and most recently, Judas and the Black Messiah.
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Miss Cleo and Psychic Readers Network Accused of Fraud
According to Newsweek, the scheme behind the Psychic Readers Network involved them offering a free reading to customers who called their toll-free line, but customers were then directed to a 900 number and were charged $4.99 per minute. The Washington Post noted that about 6 million people who made calls were charged an average of $60.
In 2002, the FTC charged owners Access Resource Services and Miss Cleo’s promoters, Steven Fader and Peter Stotz, with deceptive advertising, billing and collection practices. Miss Cleo was not indicted.
Newsweek also reported that Steven Fader and Peter Stotz settled the dispute by removing the $500 million debt owed by their many callers to the network and paying $5 million to the FDC. Uncashed checks were also given back to customers.
According to The New York Times, Miss Cleo died of cancer on July 26, 2016.
Lifetime’s Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall, starring The Lady of Rage, premieres on Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. EST.
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Check out the trailer for Miss Cleo’s biopic below.