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S04.E05: Chitara & Priscilla

Tara Ariano

By Tara Ariano
in Catfish [V]

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GaT

GaT

What a little bitch Ashanti was, she was so smug about just turning 18, I guess she figured she was too young to get in any real trouble. Someone who is that good at manipulating people's emotions that young is just evil. No wonder she wouldn't do a follow up, the Priscilla profile is gone, but she probably has a different one she using to scam people.

  • Love 7
summerfungirl

summerfungirl

Wow, what a boring episode.

The guest host was boring...whoever he was...they could have gone with no guest host and it would have been the same outcome.

Can they do a Catfish with older people, not the 20 sometimes.

Do people in their 50s not lie or are not catfished. I highly doubt it.

Get some new material please.

I love this show but the endings are starting to be highly predictable.

Funny Ashanti just turned 18 and no one asked how old here new boyfriend is.

We need Max back.

  • Love 5
truebluesmoky

truebluesmoky

I'm not saying I didn't already know this show was mostly fake, but it's becoming more clear when they search for different things in different episodes based on what they want their mystery to be. In the last episode, they did the Spokeo reverse phone number search so we could see the different names and wonder if it was the real guy or one of his brothers. In this episode, they didn't even search the phone number. They just did a Google image search and checked out the weird social media profiles. (Side note: I am OLD. I had no idea either of those weird sounding social media platforms existed - they sounded like made-up Law & Order SVU sites.) They could have done a phone number search and possibly found this girl or her mom, but I guess that's not the mystery story they wanted to tell this time around.

 

Overall, though, SUPER boring. I would have liked Chitara if she didn't spend so much camera time playing with her tongue ring. Ashanti was awful but in a boring, no interesting story, evil but not comically evil kind of way. The guest host was 100% useless. He served no purpose whatsoever... less annoying than the beauty queen but at least she participated, even in an "it's all about me" way.

  • Love 6
gunderda

gunderda

This one was kinda boring but I see why they aired it.  I would be po'd too if some underage person catfished me into a relationship - someone can get in big trouble for that!!!  

 

When I was younger I talked to A LOT of older guys, had 'relationships' with them online.. some who even had real life girlfriends.  I was 16ish at the time and these guys knew full well that I was underage and didn't care.  I just thought I was cool that I could get older guys.  Now it just grosses me out that these guys were into me. 

I never met any of them in real life though - although there were plans being made. 

 

So long story short I get why Ashanti did it and didn't seem to regret it at all. 

LoneHaranguer

LoneHaranguer

I was a little distracted during the sitdown because what was on the table kept changing. The most noticeable was Chitara's caramel swirl that kept appearing and disappearing, but over by the guest host it kept swapping between a cola glass and a coffee cup. Apparently, the producers did a little rearranging of the conversation.

 

 

I would be po'd too if some underage person catfished me into a relationship - someone can get in big trouble for that!!!

Was she underage? 17 is not underage in most of the country (for that matter, neither is 16 in nearly as many states). I haven't heard of anyone going after the "criminals" who've appeared on 16 and Pregnant, so I don't know how much of a risk that would be anyway.

gunderda

gunderda

(edited)

I was a little distracted during the sitdown because what was on the table kept changing. The most noticeable was Chitara's caramel swirl that kept appearing and disappearing, but over by the guest host it kept swapping between a cola glass and a coffee cup. Apparently, the producers did a little rearranging of the conversation.

 

Was she underage? 17 is not underage in most of the country (for that matter, neither is 16 in nearly as many states). I haven't heard of anyone going after the "criminals" who've appeared on 16 and Pregnant, so I don't know how much of a risk that would be anyway.

Maybe 17 isn't anymore but If i were an adult I sure as hell wouldn't go near anyone under 18 with a 10 foot pole.  and I have a feeling chitara feels the same way with the reaction she had that she just turned 18.

But Ashanti said she had been doing that stuff since she was 13. 

Edited by gunderda
  • Love 3
Universalhunter

Universalhunter

(edited)

Yeah, they don't even try with the searches anymore. I feel like in the first couple of seasons, they would at least try to get something, they didn't just search one thing and call it a day. It's really been phoned-in this season. Next season Nev will just show up and make the call, nothing else.

Hopefully Max's return will help!

Edited by Universalhunter
Empress1

Empress1

Do people in their 50s not lie or are not catfished. I highly doubt it.

 

 

Watch Dr. Phil. He has a bunch of episodes (lots on YouTube) about people (men and women) who are catfished - usually folks over 50 who are either widowed or divorced and lonely and looking for love, and all of them end up sending their "significant others" hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's SO sad. Their adult children are usually like "?!" when they find out their parent has, like, sold their childhood home and given the proceeds to some random they've never met. But MTV skews young (at 30ish, Nev is out of their target demographic) so I doubt they'd show that.

 

I love the shade the editor threw when Chitara said she'd chalk Ashanti's behavior up to her only being 18 and they showed a text from Chitara telling her she was "mature for a 22-year-old." Ouch! (Hee.)

  • Love 2
torontomeridith

torontomeridith

(edited)
Do people in their 50s not lie or are not catfished. I highly doubt it.

 

 

As Maury has the "Are you the Father?" episodes, so does Dr. Phil have the middle-aged/senior Nigerian fake boyfriend scams. There is usually one a month and these women (almost universally they are women) are just pathetic and wind up giving these never seen men (?) hundred of thousands of dollars.

 

ETA: OOPS. Didn't see above post.

Edited by torontomeridith
  • Love 1
Neurochick

Neurochick

This episode was boring because they ignored the big honking elephant in the living room.  Ashanti using pictures of very light skinned girls with long hair.  That says to me that even at 13, Ashanti knew exactly the type of person people would respond to.

 

BTW, the pictures Ashanti was using, can the owner of those pictures sue her?

  • Love 5
missy jo

missy jo

(edited)

What empress1 and Torontomeredith said re: Dr. Phil. Talk about some *real* catfishes!

 

I would have liked Chitara if she didn't spend so much camera time playing with her tongue ring.

 

 

I'm an old, so at first look I was saying, "Spit out your gum, child!" and on second look, I was repulsed.

 

ETA: Worst co-host yet.

Edited by missy jo
  • Love 1
possibilities

possibilities

The co-host jumping on the bed made me laugh. He didn't have much to say, but clearly he wasn't going to take things too seriously.

 

Nev seems bored. I can't say I blame him. I'm getting bored, too.

 

It just seems to me that there is a fundamental disconnect between people who lie, enjoy the deception, and don't think there's anything wrong with it, and people who don't lie and would not lie because they (1) think it's wrong, and (2) don't get anything out of it. They are never going to find each others motives or reactions understandable or even sane.

 

On the other hand, if you watch Catfish (the show) and are aware of the phenomenon, and have not investigated even after you get suspicious-- maybe you are getting something out of the fantasy. I don't get why people who have seen the show don't do some of the research themselves. It's not like Nev and whoever his sidekick is at the moment are hiding how they figure stuff out. The show basically spells out exactly what the steps are.

 

So I have to conclude there is a motive for applying to be on the show, other than finding out what's going on, and it has to be getting on tv. Maybe they hope they'll find someone else by getting media exposure? I don't get it. But then, I don't lie or enjoy being deceived, nor do I want to be on TV, especially not for something embarrassing.

 

The whole thing is sad.

 

If you want to have a fantasy life, role play with consenting people. There should be a site for people who want this, and it can say in the registration process that nobody's profile is real. Or channel your creativity into acting or fiction-writing or undercover spy work.

 

I get that it can be hard to find someone and that in some ways writing makes it easier to say things you'd be nervous to say face to face. But if you want a real relationship, do the research and don't wait too long or accept excuses when things aren't adding up.

 

I'm trying to figure out what a more interesting episode would look like at this point. Maybe the whole mess has been well-enough documented and there's nothing else left to say.

  • Love 2
meeeeech

meeeeech

@Neurochick, she technically could and get damages if Ashanti somehow made money from the image (if she used it as an advertisement, etc). It's a huge hassle to go after people who just steal pictures for random social media profiles though so most people don't. I think Nev said on his podcast that the show only uses pictures that they have permission for, so they probably swap out the fake pictures in production.

 

I tried to watch this mess twice and zoned out both times. Getting closure is all well and good but if you need to coerce your paramour with Nev and an MTV camera crew, being publicly humiliated is kind of par for the course.

Glade

Glade

(edited)

This was way too formulaic and boring.  As for Ashanti, she fanwanked on meeting Nev and being on the show a bit too much--and it was quite ridiculous that she thought they would keep details of her lies off the air.  I can't stand people who use and lie to other people, and then have an attitude about it when confronted.  I think she was still lying, still scamming people and isn't going to stop anytime soon.  And I really shed some tears when hearing about her backstory... I'm surprised they didn't go the whole "so are you really a lesbian?" route. 

Edited by Glade
  • Love 1
gesundheit

gesundheit

Do people in their 50s not lie or are not catfished. I highly doubt it.

They do, they just don't want to go on Catfish about it. (I think I said about one of the other episodes that the demos mean the target HAS to be young-ish, and that means the Catfish-er does, too, in the end because if some 55-year-old is pretending to be 23 to be a gross predator online, they're not going to sign up to reveal themselves on MTV.)

 

So I have to conclude there is a motive for applying to be on the show, other than finding out what's going on, and it has to be getting on tv. Maybe they hope they'll find someone else by getting media exposure? I don't get it. But then, I don't lie or enjoy being deceived, nor do I want to be on TV, especially not for something embarrassing.

They do get paid to be on the show. If you have a high shame threshold and could use some pocket money, it probably sounds like fun. In the last couple of seasons, I sometimes think someone actually started catfishing in order to then apply to be on the show. I'd bet Ashanti did, she seemed pretty starstruck and ready to be combative in that "I want to be talked about on Twitter the next day" sort of way. And unfortunately we have seen that a vast majority of the people on the show tend to be lower-income (if any income).

 

 I can't stand people who use and lie to other people, and then have an attitude about it when confronted.  I think she was still lying, still scamming people and isn't going to stop anytime soon. 

Seriously. Also, her fake profile really had 29,000 followers??? How did she manage that?

 

I believe they said Chitara was 28 in the beginning of the episode.

They did. If I were 28 and found out I'd even been flirting with a 17-year-old online I would be appropriately mortified. I did feel bad for her on that count.

  • Love 3
Janet Snakehole

Janet Snakehole

I am wondering if that is the reason this episode was so boring, the whole Ashanti having been 17 for most of the relationship. Maybe Chitara just kind of shut down because she felt creeped out by it, so there was not as much to go on post reveal. It all grosses me out a bit, as someone closer in age to Chitara. I would say maybe the show runners also stepped back a bit to be more responsible, but after the debacle of Courtney and Isaak I don't think they are that sensible.

I have been hoping for an older catfish too, but maybe this episode is making me reconsider, because it has the potential to get very creepy very fast; and I don't think that Nev (who seems to usually want to shove the catfish into more of a sympathetic role than they have any right to be in) really has the capability of handling that situation.

lightbeam

lightbeam

(edited)

Why didn't they ask Ashanti any real questions though? Does she have feelings for women? Did she actually have feelings for Chitara? I feel like Nev really let her off the hook, more so than he ever has before.

I guess Chitara was so grossed out about the girls age, she didn't want to get into the romantic or sexual nature of the relationship (which I assume was downplayed).

Looking forward to the return of Max.

Edited by lightbeam
GaT

GaT

Why didn't they ask Ashanti any real questions though? Does she have feelings for women? Did she actually have feelings for Chitara? I feel like Nev really let her off the hook, more so than he ever has before.

I guess Chitara was so grossed out about the girls age, she didn't want to get into the romantic or sexual nature of the relationship (which I assume was downplayed).

 

Well, since she was 17 (I can't remember how long this was going on, was she even younger than that?) when they were in contact, technically, Chitara was breaking the law. I don't know how much trouble she would actually get in because there was no physical contact & she believed the person to be of age, but if Ashanti's mother wanted to, she could probably make life very difficult for Chitara. That's probably why they skated around anything that could seem sexual.

Vicky8675309

Vicky8675309

Well, since she was 17 (I can't remember how long this was going on, was she even younger than that?) when they were in contact, technically, Chitara was breaking the law. I don't know how much trouble she would actually get in because there was no physical contact & she believed the person to be of age, but if Ashanti's mother wanted to, she could probably make life very difficult for Chitara. That's probably why they skated around anything that could seem sexual.

 

What law/laws did Chitara break (technically and nontechnically) by talking on the phone and texting? Ashanti, on the other hand, will likely implement other scams and end up committing fraud/identity theft and other crimes in the future imo since she showed no remorse and even seemed proud of herself. 

GaT

GaT

If any kind of sex got mentioned, that could be a problem. We have no idea what they talked about, but I remember seeing some messages that included the word marry, so they were getting pretty heavy. Ashanti was a minor, the laws are different when you're dealing with a minor. That's why Chitara freaked out when she found out how young Ashanti was.

  • Love 1
EDTV

EDTV

If any kind of sex got mentioned, that could be a problem. We have no idea what they talked about, but I remember seeing some messages that included the word marry, so they were getting pretty heavy. Ashanti was a minor, the laws are different when you're dealing with a minor. That's why Chitara freaked out when she found out how young Ashanti was.

If someone lies about their age online that's on them...Why would Chitara get in trouble for talking to someone she thought was 22?...lol.

 

Now if she KNEW she was talking to an underage girl and continued to do so on a sexual level, then that's def a different story. That being said I believe 16 or 17 is legal in most states.

 

I used to watch that "To catch a predator " show... they always had to CLEARLY state their age which was usually 13 or 14 in order for the men to be arrested.

  • Love 1
GaT

GaT

If someone lies about their age online that's on them...Why would Chitara get in trouble for talking to someone she thought was 22?...lol.

 

I'm guessing that either you're too young or you forgot about the whole Rob Lowe sex tape thing. He went to a bar, picked up a couple of girls, & took them back to his hotel where he had sex with both of them & recorded it. It wasn't until later on that he found out one of the girls was only 16, he assumed that since she was in a bar, she was legal, but that's not the way it worked out & he got arrested for having sex with an underage girl. He got lucky & only had to perform community service & didn't do jail time. It seems reasonable to assume that someone you meet in a bar is of legal age, but if it turns out that they aren't, you're still held as being responsible. It's seems reasonable to assume that if someone you're communicating with online tells you they're over 18 then you're not responsible if it turns out they're aren't, but that's not how it works. Ignorance doesn't count legally.

  • Love 3
EDTV

EDTV

I'm guessing that either you're too young or you forgot about the whole Rob Lowe sex tape thing. He went to a bar, picked up a couple of girls, & took them back to his hotel where he had sex with both of them & recorded it. It wasn't until later on that he found out one of the girls was only 16, he assumed that since she was in a bar, she was legal, but that's not the way it worked out & he got arrested for having sex with an underage girl. He got lucky & only had to perform community service & didn't do jail time. It seems reasonable to assume that someone you meet in a bar is of legal age, but if it turns out that they aren't, you're still held as being responsible. It's seems reasonable to assume that if someone you're communicating with online tells you they're over 18 then you're not responsible if it turns out they're aren't, but that's not how it works. Ignorance doesn't count legally.

thats a whole dif scenario... he met the girl in person and actually had sex with her. 

 

We're talking about someone who chatted with someone online... its very easy for someone to use fake pictures and create a fake persona and even a fake "community" online as we have seen. Chitara did nothing wrong and even if she talked sexually I doubt she would ever get in trouble.

GaT

GaT

thats a whole dif scenario... he met the girl in person and actually had sex with her. 

 

We're talking about someone who chatted with someone online... its very easy for someone to use fake pictures and create a fake persona and even a fake "community" online as we have seen. Chitara did nothing wrong and even if she talked sexually I doubt she would ever get in trouble.

Then how about To Catch a Predator, that's all done online, even though it's the predator being the one who's pretending to be a different age in this case. They all end up getting arrested because the other person is a minor. They never actually meet, it's all online..

EDTV

EDTV

Then how about To Catch a Predator, that's all done online, even though it's the predator being the one who's pretending to be a different age in this case. They all end up getting arrested because the other person is a minor. They never actually meet, it's all online..

yes and on that show the decoys are VERY CLEAR and specifically state several times that they are 12 or 13 years old.  otherwise the men can get off the hook.

  • Love 1
Tara Ariano

Tara Ariano

  • Author

The podcast finally went up later on Thursday and they said on it that Chitara had sent sexy photos to Priscilla/Ashanti. Obviously Ashanti couldn't reciprocate without outing herself, so Chitara wouldn't have been in any danger of possessing child pornography or whatever. (The podcast was as boring as you would expect given how awful Alex was on the show.)

  • Love 1
Neurochick

Neurochick

yes and on that show the decoys are VERY CLEAR and specifically state several times that they are 12 or 13 years old.  otherwise the men can get off the hook.

 

Correct.  In those cases the decoys state that they are underage.  What if someone on the internet presents themselves as an adult but really isn't?  How is one supposed to know that the person on the other computer/smartphone/tablet is an adult?  

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