[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Claim to Fame Season 2 premiere.]
Tom Hanks‘ niece Carly Reeves was none too pleased to be eliminated in the first episode of Claim to Fame Season 2, which premiered on Monday, June 26 on ABC. After cast member Hugo correctly guessed her famous relative’s identity, Carly walked off set and broke down screaming and crying while packing her bags.
Claim to Fame is a reality competition series hosted by brothers Kevin Jonas and Franklin Jonas (the oldest and youngest of the Jonas brothers crew). The contest brings 12 strangers together who all have one thing in common: they are closely related to a celebrity.
Throughout the season, they must fight to keep their famous family’s identity a secret while challenges, clues, and the other players attempt to reveal everyone’s secrets but their own. The grand prize for the winner is $100,000. As the episode revealed, Carly is Hanks’ niece by marriage. Her mother is the sister of Rita Wilson, who has been married to Hanks since the 1980s.
Everyone in the cast started off the episode by sharing two truths and a lie about their family member. Carly’s clues were that her uncle was an Oscar-winning musician. Early in the Season 2 premiere, Carly clocked some Forrest Gump references on the clue wall in the cast mansion (specifically, a miniature bench similar to the one on which Forrest sits throughout the Oscar-winning film).
She shared her worry about the so-called obvious clues, and clearly resented the bench when she was sent home. Shortly after she walked off set, the cast and hosts heard a loud scream. From that point on, it was all drama.
“His freakin’ clues are so freakin’ obvious,” she said through sobs. “There’s literally no reference to benches on any other movie. Even [her fellow contestant] Gabriel found that out. He’s not even, like, smart!” Even if she didn’t realize she was mic’d in this moment, she was yelling loud enough for everyone to hear. Gabriel’s reaction to the insult is seen in the video of the meltdown below.
– I don’t know if y’all watch #ClaimToFame but Tom Hanks’ niece really showed her ass last night. pic.twitter.com/ydrBrgHel6
— Rob Milton (@therobmilton) June 27, 2023
“I didn’t even get to do any challenges!” she went on. “I don’t deserve this! I should have more camera time! I should be here longer!”
Claim to Fame producers reportedly encouraged Carly to list Hanks as her relative as opposed to Wilson, since he was a bigger name. She told USA Today that all of the Hanks knew she was going on the show, including cousins Colin Hanks and Chet Hanks. She said the You’ve Got Mail star told her, “Best of luck! That’s awesome!” in response to her sharing the casting news.
That’s certainly a memorable way to stake your claim to fame.
Claim to Fame, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC
