Kriti Mehrotra
With Hulu’s ‘Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara’ living up to its title in every way conceivable, we get a documentary that truly shines a light upon the fact fame is not always glamorous. After all, it carefully chronicles the way Tegan Rain Quin’s identity was stolen before being weaponized in a catfish scheme to ensnare members of her and her twin sister’s indie pop band’s fans. However, the truth is that many of their acquaintances and friends also fell victim to this complex ordeal at one point or another, amongst whom was actually fellow queer musician JT Crim.
JT Crim Initially Didn’t Believe There Was a Fake Tegan
Although a native of wondrous Edmonton in Alberta, JT didn’t have the most cosy, comfortable, or stable upbringing, considering she was partially raised in a government group home. The truth is that her mother was the one to give her and her siblings away to social services while they were younger owing to some issues, shortly following which music became her solace. She ultimately decided to relocate to Vancouver, British Columbia, in the hopes of pursuing a career in the same, just to soon find her people in the only lesbian/queer bar in town at the time.
That’s when JT first came across Tegan, as she and her sister Sara also hung out in the same circle when not traveling across North America playing gigs for their growing army of loyal fans. The former was honestly inspired by Tegan and Sara since they were essentially living her dream, but she was also happy to take baby steps to reach that position while working as a bouncer at the club to make ends meet. Though she did seemingly like Tegan, and they even hung out alone a few times, only for their connection to sadly fizzle out before it even began as the indie musician soon went on the road.
JT and Tegan did keep in touch a little via e-mail, yet it wasn’t until the early 2010s that the aspiring artist chose to reconnect with her and learned she had changed her contact information. What ensued were honest, vulnerable conversations that gave way to a secret relationship, only for JT to call it quits after over a year owing to “Tegan’s” inability to make time for them to meet. Little did JT know she wasn’t talking to Tegan at all but instead a catfish, yet she was ready to believe back then as the texting pattern, style, and vernacular were so similar to the real one.
Following Many Ups and Downs, JT is Getting Back in the Groove
JT actually accused Tegan and her management of being manipulative liars when told about the catfish, claiming they were simply protecting the star’s image because she was already in a serious relationship at the time. She then went on to demand an in-person apology before making her unanswered accusations public, not realizing the musician had gotten scared owing to everything going on. However, it’s undeniable that her self-preserving reactions were completely understandable, too, since her trust was broken and she felt horrifically taken advantage of, traumatizing her to no extent.
JT subsequently felt out of place in both the music industry and the queer scene due to the fact people openly talked about what had happened between her, Tegan, and Fake Tegan. She felt judged, misunderstood, and ridiculed, which is why she agreed to be a part of this aforementioned Erin Lee Carr project in the hopes of finally moving forward from the past. She actually managed to do so despite it hurting, which she recently indicated alongside a photo from the Nashville Film Festival on September 24, 2024, writing, “Well, after 14 long months of reliving one of the darkest times of my life… I gotta say I feel a lot different today & I’ll leave it at that for now.”
Coming to JT’s current standing, this Vancouver-based experienced hairdresser is finally returning to music again after everything that transpired, with her ongoing healing journey being her inspiration. In fact, this anxious fitness buff, travel enthusiast, beach lover, and cat mom’s new single titled “Mean” is all set to release on October 18, 2024 — the same day as the documentary’s premiere. We should mention that JT was a dog mom for nearly 15 years too, but she sadly lost her chihuahua Louie mere weeks before her birthday and just a month before his 15th birthday.
Read More: Julie Locher: Where is the Tegan and Sara Fan Now?
