Miss Cleo comes out, joins ‘Surreal Life’

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Remember Miss Cleo from those annoying late-night psychic hotline infomercials back in the late 90s? The one with the really fake Jamaican accent? “Call me now!”

Well, you’re about to. Miss Cleo (real name Youree Dell Cleomili Harris) came out in the October issue of The Advocate. In the interview, she credits her gay godson for inspiring her to make the revelation. That’s all well and good, but I share Dr. Marc Lamont Hill’s skepticism, since her confession is conveniently timed to coincide with the new season of VH1′s “The Surreal Life,” in which she will be a castmember.

Keith Boykin , however, is looking on the bright side:

Personally, I can’t see the future, but I’m willing to predict that her coming out will have a positive effect on the community. When someone who knows Miss Cleo finds out that she is a lesbian, that will help that person to re-think what it means to be a lesbian. The more people who come out, especially in the black community, the more we can challenge the stereotype of what it means to be gay or lesbian.