<body><div><a href="https://www.xxlmag.com/tags/lady-of-rage/">The Lady of Rage</a> is revisiting her acting chops in a new role that finds her playing famed psychic Miss Cleo.<h2>The Lady of Rage to Portray TV Psychic Miss Cleo in New Movie</h2>On Tuesday (July 23), Lifetime network shared the trailer for the upcoming biopic, titled Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall. The film shows the former <a href="https://www.xxlmag.com/tags/death-row-records/">Death Row Records</a> rapper depicting the tarot card-reading psychic who offered free calls to infomercial viewers to have their fortune read in the late 1990s and early 2000s.Miss Cleo, who spoke with a very heavy Jamaican accent, was an L.A. native. In the film, a relative of Cleo's calls her out for allegedly "mocking" her Jamaican heritage. The biopic also uncovers Miss Cleo's deceitful success, noting that she was bringing in $24 million at one point for the Psychic Readers Network where she was employed. However, it appears in the movie that Miss Cleo, born Youree Dell Harris, was unfazed by her problematic dishonesty because it allowed her, a single mother, to pay her bills and provide for her children. Miss Cleo's fall came when she was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for fraud, which is also highlighted in the Lifetime film.Rage, born Robin Allen, previously acted in films such as Next Friday, Ride, and most recently, Judas and the Black Messiah.<h2>Miss Cleo and Psychic Readers Network Accused of Fraud</h2>According to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/miss-cleo-what-happened-today-psychic-reader-hbo-max-1767362">Newsweek</a>, the scheme behind the Psychic Readers Network involved them offering a free reading to customers who called their toll-free line, but customers were then directed to a 900 number and were charged $4.99 per minute. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/youree-dell-harris-who-played-jamaican-psychic-miss-cleo-in-tv-ads-dies-at-53/2016/07/26/4f8d076c-5374-11e6-bbf5-957ad17b4385_story.html">The Washington Post</a> noted that about 6 million people who made calls were charged an average of $60.In 2002, the FTC charged owners Access Resource Services and Miss Cleo's promoters, Steven Fader and Peter Stotz, with deceptive advertising, billing and collection practices. Miss Cleo was not indicted.Newsweek also reported that Steven Fader and Peter Stotz settled the dispute by removing the $500 million debt owed by their many callers to the network and paying $5 million to the FDC. Uncashed checks were also given back to customers.According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/business/media/tv-psychic-miss-cleo-dies.html">The New York Times</a>, Miss Cleo died of cancer on July 26, 2016.Lifetime's Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall, starring The Lady of Rage, premieres on Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. EST.Check out the trailer for Miss Cleo's biopic below.<h2>Watch the Trailer for Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall</h2><h2>See 7 Movie Roles That Rappers Turned Down</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2fjZpM_0ub3P4ry00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2fjZpM_0ub3P4ry00" width="980" height="696" ><figcaption>Will Smith</figcaption></figure><h2>Will Smith</h2>Movies:The Matrix and Django UnchainedRoles: Neo in The Matrix and Django in Django UnchainedWill Smith has pivoted so well from hip-hop to Hollywood that music fans of a certain age may not even recall his rap career. While he's had plenty of accolades on the movie front, Will could have reportedly had two more iconic roles on his resume.Could you have seen The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Neo in The Matrix? That was once a thought, but he turned down the role that ultimately went to Keanu Reeves. Last year, Will told the story on his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm2szuXKgL8">official YouTube channel</a>, implying that the Wackowskis, the film's writer/directors, gave him a pitch about the 1999 movie’s dynamic cinematography that was simply too much for him to visualize. Then he admitted that he’s “not proud” of the decision.Aside from brushing off the Neo offer, years later, Will also rejected Quentin Tarantino’s offer to star in 2012’s Django Unchained because, as he told <a href="https://ew.com/article/2013/03/25/will-smith-django-unchained/">Entertainment Weekly</a> <a href="https://ew.com/article/2013/03/25/will-smith-django-unchained/">in 2013,</a> Will felt “Django wasn't the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead.” Jamie Foxx ended up taking the role and knocking it out of the park.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3LN2h1_0ub3P4ry00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3LN2h1_0ub3P4ry00" width="980" height="1408" ><figcaption>Drake</figcaption></figure><h2>Drake</h2>Movie:The HeistRole: Unknown Prior to famed movie producer Harvey Weinstein being sentenced to 23 years in prison for committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree and third-degree rape, Drake seemingly found out about his reputation and reportedly refused Weinstein’s movie offer. Drizzy was reportedly offered a starring role in a film called The Heist. Drake’s manager, Adel "Future The Prince" Nur, told <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/drakes-hotline-hollywood-inside-an-ambitious-push-film-tv-1055765">The Hollywood Reporter</a> in 2017 that “I vetted [Weinstein] with five people and got bad feedback about working with him,” which kept the music star out of a troubling orbit. Apparently, Weinstein also wanted Drake to produce the film. The movie has yet to come to fruition and it's unclear which character the Toronto rapper was asked to play.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0jQIrp_0ub3P4ry00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0jQIrp_0ub3P4ry00" width="980" height="1472" ><figcaption>Ja Rule</figcaption></figure><h2>Ja Rule</h2>Movie:2 Fast 2 FuriousRole: EdwinIn the early 2000s, Ja Rule was on top of the world. He was a multi-platinum artist, at the head of one of the rap game’s most powerful crews in Murder Inc. He was even making inroads in Hollywood, with a small role as Edwin in the 2001 racing film The Fast and The Furious. Who could have seen how lucrative the franchise would ultimately become? Ja didn’t see it when he blew off late movie director John Singleton’s overtures to star in the 2003 sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious.Singleton told <a href="https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/john-singleton-reveals-how-ja-rule-blew-his-chance-to-be-in-2-fast-2-furious/">Grantland</a> in 2015 that “Ja got too big for himself. He turned it down. He turned down a half a million dollars...He was kinda playing me to the side and I was like, ‘What? What is this shit?’ This was all initiated by me. I then made a call. I called Ludacris,” who ultimately got the role.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=33IhpX_0ub3P4ry00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=33IhpX_0ub3P4ry00" width="980" height="645" ><figcaption>Tupac Shakur</figcaption></figure><h2>Tupac Shakur</h2>Movie:Menace to SocietyRole: SharifIn 1992, Tupac Shakur was tapped to play Sharif in the gritty coming of age film Menace to Society. The character, ultimately played by Vonte Sweet, was a reformed knucklehead known for kicking knowledge that no one in his crew actually heeded. Tupac wasn’t fond of the one-dimensional portrayal of Sharif, as would-be co-stars Tyrin Turner and MC Eiht can recall. Turner <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/1708225/menace-ii-society-tupac-shakur/">told MTV in 2013</a> that Tupac was visibly “annoyed” during a cast reading, while MC Eiht <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_K6Ck4sFzM">recently said</a> that the late rapper questioned the Hughes brothers, the movie’s directors, about why Sharif’s Muslim conversion wasn’t explained in the script. Tupac’s dissatisfaction with the role led to him reportedly causing trouble on the set, which eventually got him fired. He later got into a fight with Allen Hughes at a Spice 1 music video shoot. This isn’t the most textbook example of a turned-down role. But it’s safe to assume that if ’Pac was invested in Sharif, he would’ve received recognition out of the situation instead of assault and battery charges.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1YX9tb_0ub3P4ry00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1YX9tb_0ub3P4ry00" width="980" height="651" ><figcaption>Eminem</figcaption></figure><h2>Eminem</h2>Movie:Southpaw and Unknown ProjectRoles: Billy Hope and a Gang Member It’s common knowledge that Eminem is a rapper’s rapper. When he gets the urge to put a project together, everything else goes out the window—even a previously agreed upon movie role. In 2010, Eminem jumped onboard for the boxing film Southpaw, which would have been his first fictional film portrayal since 2002’s semi-autobiographical 8 Mile. Father-son movie producers Alan and Peter Riche were on the fast track to having the film put together, but other artistic inspiration came calling for Eminem. Alan recalled what happened in an interview with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/southpaw-eminem-jake-gyllenhaal-casting-2015-7">Business Insider</a> in 2015. “We were told that he really loved it, but that he feels he’s a musician first and an actor second and he had a lot of inner energy going on for his next album [<a href="https://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2013/11/eminem-marshall-mathers-lp-2-album-review/">Marshall Mathers LP 2</a>] and that’s where his muse was taking him.” Jake Gyllenhaal ended up taking the role in the 2015 film that inspired Em so much he put the soundtrack out on Shady Records, complete with two of his songs. Slim Shady also could have starred alongside partner-in-rhyme 50 Cent in a film where the two would play rival gang members in Detroit. The Shady Records founder decided against the role because he wanted the film to be more like The Warriors. 50 recently shared Em's response with <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/eminem-turned-down-8-million-movie-offer/news-story/c90abf4cba3f92e2a444d7dedb7773f1">Q Magazine</a>. “I said, The Warriors? What the fuck, Em? The Warriors? Did you just hear me say they want to give you $8 million and you don’t have to leave Detroit?’ He didn’t give a fuck." When you're Eminem, it's clear money isn't everything.</div></body>

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The Lady of Rage to Play Controversial 1990’s TV Psychic Miss Cleo in New Movie

The Lady of Rage is revisiting her acting chops in a new role that finds her playing famed psychic Miss Cleo. The Lady of Rage to Portray TV Psychic Miss Cleo in New Movie. On Tuesday (July 23), Lifetime network shared the trailer for the upcoming biopic, titled Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall. The film shows the former Death Row Records rapper depicting the tarot card-reading psychic who offered free calls to infomercial viewers to have their fortune read in the late 1990s and early 2000s.