Catfishing is not really new, and the term and the phenomenon—being tricked by someone online, usually posing as someone they are not— came into parlance with the 2010 documentary “Catfishing.” But catfishing was still new around 2011—the year pop duo Tegan & Sara were caught in a long-term, still-running catfish scam. Directed and produced by Erin Lee Carr, the filmmaker behind the doc “Britney Vs. Spears,” her new film, “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara,” examines the dark side of fandom and how far fans will go in their unhealthy obsessions.
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Worse, Tegan and Sara were super open and welcoming and created a huge support system around themselves and their LGBTQ-friendly audience. But that open book policy had to change once Tegan, realized “Fegan” (Fake Tegan), was an online fan that hacked all her accounts, posed as her online talking to other fans, and essentially turned their world apart for years. Embarrassed and distraught, Tegan and Sara kept this catfishing con a secret for years, but they finally told the story in order to make it a cautionary tale for fans and online users everywhere.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Tegan and Sara ascended to global fame as one of the most influential queer indie rock bands of their generation. They worked hard to cultivate an inclusive and passionate fanbase around the world. Listeners were drawn to the duo’s beautifully confessional lyrics, but there was more than just the music. Fans found within the community the only safe space to come out and be queer during a time when few bands would declare allyship, let alone celebrate their own queer identity. But a bad actor took advantage of the community’s trust and comfort. Tegan and Sara’s world turned upside down when Tegan’s personal files were hacked in 2011, revealing the dark side of fame and fandom. This is a sprawling yet intimate story of how Tegan’s identity was stolen and weaponized in a complex catfish scheme to ensnare members of this community. The film is an examination of the severe ripple effect of mistrust, anxiety, and self-doubt that resulted from Fegan’s (Fake Tegan) actions.
Today, Tegan enlists documentary filmmaker and investigator Erin Lee Carr [Britney Vs. Spears] to find the person stalking her and terrorizing her fans and community for over fifteen years. Interwoven with the investigation Tegan’s team originally conducted in 2011 they uncover new victims and potential suspects and reveal sinister and unforeseen twists.
Told through Tegan’s own voice, the voices of deceived fans, a trove of visceral communications between fake Tegan and their victims, and the visual history of the band’s behind-the-scenes archive, this documentary feature is a thriller, a caper, a whodunnit, and an intimate personal journey rolled into one. It cuts to the heart of love and betrayal, fame and fandom, desire and delusion in the 21st century.
A Story Syndicate production in association with Carr Lot Productions, the film was co-produced by Elyssa Hess and Jenny Eliscu and executive produced by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin; Dan Cogan, Liz Garbus, Jon Bardin, and Kate Barry for Story Syndicate.
“Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara” premieres on Hulu on October 18. Watch the first trailer below.
