“Call me now for your free reading!” was all we could think in our little heads when we heard Miss Cleo was brandishing a gay card. The television psychic who got into some investigative hot water — what do you mean phone readings are “for entertainment purposes only”? — was the face of the Psychic Readers Network, though she was never found criminally liable.
And wouldn’t you know it: She’s gone from fake psychic readings to GLBT outreach!
She is taller than she seemed on TV — 6 feet, plus a few extra inches from her high-heeled shoes. Her hair was pulled back in a wrap tucked under a pageboy hat.
She said she was drawn to Lake Worth in 2007, and to this coffeehouse, by her work with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
Since then, she has protested in downtown Lake Worth, walked in the Florida AIDS Walk in Fort Lauderdale, and emceed the PrideFest 2008 of the Palm Beaches.
[…] At PrideFest, Cleo mocked her Psychic Readers Network past, said Julie Seaver, capital campaign manager with Compass Community Center in Lake Worth. (But Cleo also made a donation to the PrideFest raffle — free readings for 10 people.)
[…] While Cleo is no longer on TV, she has managed to remain before the public.
She provided the voice for gang leader Auntie Poulet in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City; released a spoken-word CD in 2007; and issued New Year’s Eve predictions for the Chicago-based podcast Windy City Queercast.
And yes, she’s still giving readings! But the $75-$200 fee isn’t for the services of a psychic, but a voodoo priestess, as she tells it.
So what’s a gal like Ms. Cleo like when it comes to relationships? Just stare into our crystal ball:
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She says she has been in three long-term relationships. The first, she says, was to a gay man who later died of AIDS. She would not give his name.
Together, they had two daughters, Cleo says, both now grown and on their own. She would not give their names, either.
Two serious relationships with women she won’t name followed. The second, in Seattle, where she produced local theater, turned abusive, Cleo says. She escaped it by moving to Florida in 1998.
blake
Well, learn something new every day. 🙂
Gurlene
I don’t quite get it.
I woke up at 2am, farted as I walked down the hallway, urinated, flushed the toilet and then walked back down the hallway and crawled back into bed.
What makes what she does so special she gets a write-up and I don’t?? I deliver freight to stores so imbeciles can stampede to buy things they do not really need but society has convinced them they do and it also pays me an honest living.
This woman is a phony and is not jamaican either. What give here? I mean really.
Shaniqua Ubangi
Not sure what’s so new about all of this. It was reported when they did serious investigations of her and the phone line.
Also, it’s “your free reading” not “you’re free reading”
You’re slipping, Queerty….slipping, slipping, slipping……
GayIsTheWay
I remember when she was on TV and I would stay up at night. I kept saying to myself this woman is not Jamaican, she slips in and out of the fake accent too much to be Jamaican. Wouldn’t you know it a year or two later they prove she’s a fraud. I believe in redemption however voodoo and card readings are exactly what got her in trouble in the first place. I do not like that’s she’s has no honest, legitimate job.
Draigon
haha… JUST stumbled upon this! I actually met her at the Les Beans (I think thats what it was called) coffee house while on a work trip in FL, I was staying at a cute lil’ “Gingerbread” house within walking dist. of the Cafe’.
I was sitting there working on writing my book (which funny enough as it is, is on Paganism and it’s various forms throughout history to now)when I look over and see this African lady with an odd Jamaican accent doing a tarot reading, I giggles to my self thinking wow she thinks she is Ms. Cleo or something… well when she finished up an was about to leave the Owner (or at least I think it was)says “We’ll see you later Cleo.” I just about DIED!
The next day i went BACK to the Cafe’ and there she was agin, I ended up getting into a convo with her outside whilst smoking, and whether or not she is a “fake” or whatever, she knows her stuff, she is well versed in Pagan/Voodoo/Houdon ideologies (as I did put her to the test)… all in all, to be honest she may be a “cheat” and a “Charlatan”, she WAS a DELIGHT to talk with, very kind soft spoken, well liked by all who came around, and hell if she is going to stand up and speak out for us, then kudos… who cares!!! WE ALL KNOW what she was charged for (though reversed)so if you are dumb enough to fall for her game again then shame on you… but then again… she might be real… heehee!!
OH and BTB, that Cafe’ WAS AWESOME!!!
Blessings!