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Tegan and Sara are the twin sisters behind one of the most popular indie-pop acts of the early 2000s — and they were also victims of a wild case of identity theft that’s been shared in the new Hulu documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara.

Though Tegan was an early adopter of the internet and using social media to connect with fans, the experience shared in the documentary has hardened her against the internet. As she told Billboard in an interview published Oct. 17, “If we’re being truthful and honest, then I have to say that I’m afraid of our audience.”

“It was such a part of indie and punk culture to bro down with the people in the audience, to go sell merch and have a beer with your fans after the show,” Sara added. “To then say at some point that you don’t want to stand outside in the dark with strangers after we’ve played a show and done press all day … those were such small changes we made, but they had such a big cultural punch within our community.”

Here is a look into the documentary about Tegan and Sara’s experience with identity theft.

What is Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara?

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Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara is a new Hulu documentary about the pair’s experience with identity theft, which began in 2008. Tegan’s personal files were hacked that year, and she soon had to deal with the fact that her identity had been stolen and was being used to convince the pair’s family members and their fans that they were interacting with the real Tegan.

The doc explores details Tegan and Sara’s efforts to uncover the identity of Fegan (Fake Tegan), an accused stalker. The pair have contended with this problem for nearly 20 years.

Who are Tegan and Sara?

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Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara started their indie-pop duo in 1995 when they were still teenagers. The pair, who both identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community, spent a lot of time online connecting with fans — something that Tegan did more of than Sara.

The duo have sold over one million records and won several awards over the years. Their albums So Jealous (2004) and The Con (2007) were especially successful.

What happened to Tegan and Sara?

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Problems began in 2008 when a fan identified as Julie messaged “Tegan” on a social media profile page and began exchanging messages with the person she thought was the singer. Variety reported that the so-called Tegan began to send her demos and private messages; in 2011 she shared a link to a collection of documents and photos that included the real Tegan and Sara’s passport photos. Julie got in touch with Tegan and Sara’s management, who told her the real Tegan didn’t know her.

Tegan kept the ordeal a secret out of fear that it would all get worse. She began to write down what was going on, and soon connected with documentary director Erin Lee Carr. From there, the Hulu project was born.

Is Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara on streaming?

Yes, the documentary begins streaming on Hulu on Oct. 18, 2024.