Paul Archuleta/FilmMagicTracie Thoms made a splash on TV on Wednesday, but it wasn't for a new role. The actress and singer was the first celebrity to appear on Catfish seeking the help of Nev Schulman and Max Joseph.
In case you missed it, here's what went down.
Thoms, who is known for her roles in Rent—both on Broadway and on film— and Cold Case, had been in contact with a super fan by the name of Sammie. Sammie helped promote Thoms' projects and the two communicated via Twitter. As Thoms said in the episode, a fan like Sammie is a dream come true to spread the word about projects. But Thoms wasn't the only person Sammie was speaking to. She also befriended Thoms' producer friend Lotti Knowles and The Glee Project contestant Marissa von Bleicken.
Ready for a new #Catfish tonight? pic.twitter.com/HFkk5FDeHG
? Catfish (@CatfishMTV) June 4, 2014While communicating with Thoms, Sammie made a fake profile, Reese, who was also a fan of the actress. But then she killed off the fake fan, saying she died from cancer. She even took video at her cousin's funeral to send to Thoms. A suspicious Thoms called the funeral home, pushed Sammie for more info and that's when everything stopped and Schulman and Joseph entered the picture.
The two delved into Sammie and investigated her background, uncovering the connection to von Bleicken and meeting with the reality star, and set up a meeting between Thoms and Sammie. In the clip below, the Catfish team discussed their meeting with Sammie with Schulman, Joseph and Knowles via webcam.
"I think it was done with no real long-term goal or purpose, but mostly out of a place of she's very lonely so she chose to reach out and connect with celebrities because she always felt that was a safe place to get attention that felt more meaningful than regular everyday attention," Schulman said.
Thoms and Sammie met on day two and seemingly wrapped things up and went their separate ways in life and on social media. The actress was on Twitter for both the East and West Coast airings and thanked her fans.
"Tweeps, thanks so much for watching with us tonight. It was a wild ride & an eye-opening experience! Thank u! I need a glass of something," she tweeted. "Don't worry tweeps…I'm fully aware that the vast majority of you guys wouldn't ever do anything like this. You guys are so awesome!"