Miss Cleo

Youree Dell Harris (born August 12, 1962 in Los Angeles, California^[1]), better known as Miss Cleo, is a self-proclaimed psychic and shaman who achieved fame as spokeswoman in television ads which aired during the late 1990s and early 2000s. In those ads, Harris (as "Miss Cleo") hawked a psychic pay-per-call service. As of 2007, Harris (now known as "Ms. Cleo" or "Cleo") offers private psychic consultations and other services through Wahgwaan Entertainment, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Harris has reportedly used numerous aliases throughout her career, including Cleomili Harris, Youree Perris, Cleo Harris, and other variations ^[2].

Early life and career

In 1996, in Seattle, Washington, Harris (under the name Youree "Ree" Harris [1]) and her partner opened a production company which produced several of her plays.^[3] She acted in her first project, an autobiographical play entitled Women Only: A Celebration of Love, Life and Healing. Her last project, Supper Club Cafe, was not successful and she "left town with a trail of debts and broken promises" ^[4]. Reportedly, the "Miss Cleo" character Harris later used in commercials was based on a Jamaican character called Cleo that Harris performed in this play.

Instead of paying money owed to the people who had taken part in her productions, Harris "told her cast members she had bone cancer" and "her medical costs would prevent her from paying people immediately, but she wrote each actor and crew member a letter telling him or her how much money she owed them. The actors and crew were never paid ^[5].

Psychic Readers Network

In the late 1990s, Harris began to work for the Psychic Friends Network under a variant of her middle name, Cleomili or Cleo. After working as a phone operator for over a year, she appeared as a television infomercial psychic in which she claimed she was originally from Jamaica. She was paid $1,700 for her first infomercial, followed by a flat fee for each commercial she appeared in thereafter.

The Psychic Readers Network is said to have coined the title "Miss Cleo" and sent spam e-mails, which stated, "[Miss Cleo has] been authorized to issue you a Special Tarot Reading!... it is vital that you call immediately!"^{[citation needed]} Charges of deceptive advertising and of fraud on the part of the Psychic Readers Network began to surface around this time. One such case was described in a CourtTV report investigating Miss Cleo and the Psychic Readers Network. In late 1999, Stephen Schwartz was in a "state of depression" and called Miss Cleo looking for answers to his personal problems. After speaking to the "psychic" who "commented on his personality and character, but offered little else in the way of a psychic reading", Schwartz ended the call. Later, Scwartz was billed $300 for the call, but sued and ultimately won $200^[6]. CourtTV and other sources also reported that the "psychics" who actually readings over the phone were in fact reading from a script (which was, in part, plagiarized from a book on tarot cards ^[7]).

In 1999, the first lawsuits were filed against Harris and her promoters concerning the psychic network's business practices. ^[8] In 2001, Access Resource Services d/b/a Psychic Readers Network was sued in various lawsuits brought by (among others) Missouri and Florida, and the Federal Communications Commission. Plaintiffs charged that the company's owners, Steve Feder and Peter Stolz, had made it appear that Miss Cleo owned and operated the Psychic Readers Network; Ms. Harris herself was sued only by the State of Florida, however, because Florida law allows a "spokesperson" to be sued as well as the company he or she represents. (The suit against Harris was later dropped on the condition that she waive her right to sue the state regarding the case.)

In 2002, the FTC charged Harris' promoters, Steven Feder and Peter Stotz, with deceptive advertising, billing and collection practices, though Harris was not indicted.^[9] Her promoters agreed to settle for a fraction of the amount they took in^[10]. Investigations helped publicize the fact that Harris was actually born in Los Angeles to American parents and had never lived in Jamaica.

Harris has since been researched by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Bob Steiner, CSICOP Fellow and magician, has observed that her techniques and methodology were at best questionable.^[11]

Personal life and subsequent career

In 2003, Harris (as "Cleo") went into private practice as self-described shaman and spiritual advisor through Wahgwaan Entertainment, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.^[12] As of 2007, the site advertises one-on-one tarot readings (priced at $200 and up), "house cleansings," "energy cleansings," wedding ceremonies, and private appearances (although the site stipulates that the appearances are granted only for "non-profit and not-for-profit fundraisers and functions"^[13] ).

Additionally, the site describes her as "a survivor and victor (sic) of domestic emotional abuse" who is "committed to bringing an awareness to Domestic Emotional and Physical Abuse in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community and to begin the healing." The site describes a series of workshops to be held by Cleo aimed at leaving an abusive relationship and "taking back your power from fear & shame" ^[14].

In the October 2006 issue of The Advocate magazine, Harris announced that she is a lesbian.^[15] Harris also has an adopted son named Billy Harris.

In 2003, the New York Daily News reported that TV music network Fuse had signed Harris as a spokeswoman^{[citation needed]}. In early 2005, Harris was reportedly appearing on television as Cleo in advertisements for a used car dealership in Florida, according to the Broward-Palm Beach New Times^{[citation needed]}.

References

External links

• Who2 profile
• Miss Cleo's birth certificate on the Smoking Gun
• Miss Cleo - Ridiculous Infomercial Review Humorous review of the Miss Cleo infomercial, including two video clips.
• Miss Cleo settles with court

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