Have you ever sat in a chair that can spin & spin til you get dizzy? I ask that because after reading this review, you’re gonna feel like you’ve been sitting in one. Rod is an African-American male that’s in his mid-30s, he’s been in an online relationship with Ebony, an African-American transgender female. They met on a dating website for gays and bisexuals. He didn’t use his own picture or name; he used KJ’s, his cousin. (KJ’s picture is of a 20-something very good-looking guy that is totally ripped! Completely unlike Rod.) Rod & Ebony couldn’t meet before because she had cancer. (I’m going to use the name “Rod” throughout the review to lessen the spinning confusion)
Oddly enough, it’s actually Rod that’s contacted Nev asking for help in meeting Ebony. After reading the email both Nev & Max are fascinated & eager to get started. They fly to Mississippi and meet Rod at his work. Rod says he’s not bisexual or gay, at first he thought Ebony was a female. If he’s not bisexual or gay, why did he go on this website??
In talking with Nev, Rod confesses he didn’t tell her he lied about his picture or his name cuz he thought she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. (Like somebody isn’t going to want anything to do with you cuz your name is Rod, not KJ…seriously now!) Rod thinks she keeps a lot of secrets. He says if he gets there & she doesn’t look like her picture that’s kind of a deal-breaker because she lied to him. Max points out that’s hypocritical of Rod, being that he’s lied to her about his looks. Rod kinda laughs and Max says, “No! I’m serious because you basically are doing the same thing.”
They’re looking up information about Ebony online & find out her full name is Sasha Ebony and she has a daughter. Max tells Nev how the phone conversation is gonna go, Ebony will dominate the conversation & Nev needs to gently point her in the direction he wants her to go. Ebony seems somewhat evasive & rude on the phone, but does agree to meet Rod. She doesn’t like the word transgender, she’s just a fabulous woman.
Nev says Rod has something he wants to tell her, this surprises Ebony as she says he’s always been very open with her. She’s ready to meet Rod but before they hang-up she says, “If he’s bringing a ring, it had better be a huge rock.” What is it with women & HUGE rocks? I’ve never (ever) understood that. They meet Rod at a park with his friend and they all play basketball for a bit…sadly, only to prove that the saying “white men can’t jump” is oh, so true. Rod’s friend is completely clueless as to why Nev & Max are there; his friend says he accepts whatever Rod chooses to do ~ he’s a true friend.
The 3 guys drive to Atlanta, GA. to meet Ebony. Rod, with flowers in his hand, walks up the steps to the house, which is a beautiful 2-story Victorian-type home, Ebony answers the door and is ecstatic to see Rod. She is exactly as her picture depicted and says, “You look a lot different!” “You sound like you, but you look nothing like your pictures.” Rod tells her that he lied about his picture and also about his name. Gee, ya think? She tells him she’s having a hard time now because for 4 years she’s pictured someone else when she’s thought of him. She’s disappointed, she’s hurt, and feels like she doesn’t know him, she even asks, “Who are you?” After a few minutes, she says she has somethings to tell him. Hmmmm…
She has an 11 year old daughter, and not only that, she’s not a transgender male; she is a natural woman. This part confuses the heck outta me cuz I would’ve expected Rod to be thrilled, being that he’s not gay & finding out that she doesn’t have a penis…but he’s not. Ebony says she was a lesbian for 15 years and he was her first boyfriend. How does she have an 11 year old daughter if she’s been a lesbian for 15 years? ’Splain that one to me, Lucy! As if things weren’t strange enough, she’s justifying her lying, but saying his lies are stupid. Within minutes of being angry at him she says she’ll forgive him. Her moods are all over the place and change really fast! Now the men are leaving to go back to the hotel and they’ll be back.
Once in the car, Nev & Max are asking Rod how he feels. He says he’s just happy it’s over with. They ask him how he feels about her being a woman, Rod says he doesn’t know why she would lie. WOW!! Get ready cuz some serious spinning is about to start! It must be truth time because Rod just told them she was sending him $2300 every month, plus paying his cellphone bill – he wasn’t working so he figured, why not? You’re a stand-up kinda man, aren’t you, Rod? Just keep the relationship going. Then WHY the heck did he want to meet her?? Next, we get a BIGGER bomb dropped. Nev asks if he thinks he’d be talking to her all this time if she hadn’t been giving him the money? Rod says no. Rod, you are scum! Scum errr Rod has gone back into the house to talk to Ebony. Nev & Max are talking alone, Nev seems quite upset. He thinks Rod was only in this for the money. Max thinks Rod is bi-curious, that he’s disappointed she’s not a transgender male.
For as heavy as this episode has been, I hope everybody that watched happened to catch this, around minute 42, they show Max & Nev doing hilarious exercises. It’s a nice, much needed break.
Rod’s back inside Ebony’s home & she’s very excited to see him, he’s not very excited to see her; both say they’re nervous. He’s told her he looks at their relationship as a friendship. He says he hasn’t taken advantage of her, but then he finally tells her the real reason he continued to talk to her. (money) She says she was genuine, she’s righteously pissed off – I think she’s really hurt and I don’t blame her 1 bit. She calls it like it is & says he did use her. (and she’s right!) She finally lays it out & says, “If ugly is what the fuck you want, then ugly is what I’ll give you!” (Give him UGLY, woman!) Awww, she tells him, “What you got was nothing (meaning money), “this” is something, (motioning to her body) and what you wish you would’ve had.” (Right on, Ebony!!) Rod says he’s going to the car.
Nev goes in the house with Ebony and is talking with her. She moved to Atlanta in 2008, then she got cancer. She lost all of her friends, got bored and went on a website because she wanted a friend, she thought she’d find a gay man on this site, and she thought Rod was gay. She’s crying as she says how happy he made her, she just wanted someone that would call her; she didn’t care about their sexual preference. It sounds as if she was beyond lonely, it’s heartbreaking to watch. She just wanted a friend. He knows what she went through, how badly she needed him and how grateful she was to him, that’s why she was so generous to him. She said he walked in and told her if it wasn’t for the finances he wouldn’t have been with her.
Nev says he sees a guy that’s down in the dumps and confused (For the record: I don’t! I see a damn Catfish thinking about his next victim), and he sees her also hurt. She goes outside before Rod leaves and tells him she’ll still be his friend. For the LIFE of me, I think it is 100% WRONG of Nev to have encouraged this “friendship” to continue because Rod is the very definition of Catfish and WILL take advantage of her again, if given the chance! Nev, what in the world are you thinking??
One month later Nev & Max are talking to Rod on webchat, he says he & Ebony talk a few times a week, he’s not ready to meet people online right now. Now, they’re on webchat with Ebony & she looks absolutely radiant; she’s got such a beautiful smile! She’s been staying offline as well, and has been enjoying the Atlanta nightlife. She’s in a relationship with a woman, she has no worries, and what more can you ask for? Heh, Max says that’s his personal fantasy. tsk tsk Max! :::wag of the finger:::
NOTE: If you were wondering how much money Ebony gave to Rod, not counting the monthly cellphone bills, it comes to $110,400.000. That is One Hundred Ten Thousand and Four Hundred Dollars. THAT, dear readers, is a Catfish! Please, Beware!
Here’s to you, Rod… There’s nobody more deserving of their picture next to the definition of Catfish:
catfish [kat-fish] verb
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