‘Catfish: The TV Show’: Nev Schulman Is Shocked to Learn Kamie Crawford Was Also Catfished [Exclusive]
MTV‘s Catfish: The TV Show producer Nev Schulman isn’t the only host who was once dupped. New Catfish host Kamie Crawford revealed to Showbiz Cheat Sheet she too was catfished by someone she considered to be a longtime friend. And during the reveal, Schulman’s jaw was on the ground.
Crawford joined the show as a co-host when Max Joseph left to pursue other projects. She started filming the series during the pandemic, so the new season of Catfish: The TV Show is a first “boots on the ground” experience for her alongside Schulman.
After being catfished himself more than a decade ago, Schulman turned the experience into the 2010 documentary Catfish, which ultimately became a societal and cultural phenomenon.
And while most people know Schulman’s catfish story, he seemed pretty shocked when Crawford shared her’s.
Nev Schulman seemed surprised to hear Kamie Crawford’s catfish story
Schulman’s empathy for the subjects on the show comes from within because he lived the experience. But so did Crawford. “I like to say that we can get catfished in real life by people that we know, and it doesn’t just have to be on the Internet,” she said.
“So I definitely have been in situations where, in particular, one really long friendship that I had where the person lied to me about everything,” Crawford revealed. “From faking an engagement to where they were traveling. Like talking to me as if they were in a different time zone when they really were down the street. It was chaos. It was insanity.”
Schulman seemed like he was hearing this story for the first time. He could be seen shaking his head and heard saying, “Wow” in the background.
Kamie said the experience prepared her for ‘Catfish’
Crawford, who brings a healthy no-nonsense skepticism to the role, said being dupped by her friend truly prepared her to co-host Catfish: The TV Show.
“I really think that situation prepped me for this show,” she said. “Because now I don’t know if I’m cynical or I don’t know what it is, but now I don’t believe anything. I don’t believe anything or anyone [laughs]. So, yeah, it can happen. It happens. And, we see it all the time when we love people and care about people. It doesn’t just have to be romantic relationships either because that was just a friendship and it happened to me and can happen to anybody.”
Crawford added that this was no ordinary friend. “This was like a friendship from my childhood of 11 years,” she laughed. “It was shocking. [And] it was the most insane deception I think, that I hope to ever experience in my life.” She added, “It was scary. It was very, very scary.”
Again, Schulman seemed pretty stunned hearing the additional layer to the story.
Nev and Kamie tease the new season of ‘Catfish: The TV Show’
Schulman and Crawford teased that this season of Catfish: The TV Show will be a wild ride. “This is our first full season back on the road, which is very, very exciting and feels like we’re back to normal,” Crawford dished. “We realize that Nev and I actually filmed more episodes during the pandemic together than outside. So just like us being able to bond and be together, it adds to the show. Because the closer we are offscreen, the closer we can be onscreen, the more in sync that we can be. So that’s really, really exciting.”
Schulman said Joseph returns this season. “I know we mentioned it already, but Max makes an appearance and is a big bonus, I think, for everybody this season. And what else? I mean, just traveling, being back on the road, getting into trouble, peering through windows,” he said.
He joked that he’s waiting to get pulled over by the cops at some point because he does so much driving on the show. “Well that one girl did call the cops on us,” Crawford teased. Did the moment make it on the show? Crawford and Schulman aren’t sure, so fans are going to have to tune in.
A new season of Catfish: The TV Show premieres Tuesday, May 31 at 8 pm ET/PT on MTV.