Nikki Sixx and Bret Michaels appeared on the Dr. Phil show yesterday to help a woman who had been fooled into thinking she was having online relationships with the two rock stars.
The woman, identified only as “Tina,” was the victim of catfishing, in which people impersonate celebrities online in order to trick victims into sending them money or personal information they can later use to hack into their bank or social media accounts.
In this case, through a long-running series of fraudulent text messages, Tina said she thought she and Sixx were friends and that she was engaged to be married to Michaels – despite never having met in person, spoken on the phone or via video chat to either musician.
After the show’s host methodically broke down the holes in the fake Sixx and Michaels stories, the real Sixx and his wife Courtney Bingham appeared live on video to confirm that the Motley Crue star had never actually texted Tina.
“No, absolutely not,” Sixx told Dr. Phil. “The first time I heard about this was when we talked about it. We wanted to come on together and let you know that whoever you’re talking to is not me, and I’m sorry that this is happening to you. Watching the show and how Dr. Phil is trying to break it all down for you, it’s heartbreaking for us. It’s not fun, it’s cruel and you seem like a very nice person. The internet’s a tricky place. You have people pretending to be people all the time, and it’s really sad when fans get sucked in.”
Sixx also promised to invite Tina to a meet-and-greet as soon as Motley Crue’s delayed reunion tour is finally allowed to begin.
Appearing in a pre-taped video, Michaels declared he had never communicated with Tina in any manner and repeated his previous warnings about celebrity impersonators. “These imposters who are going after innocent people like Tina, who is on your show right now, and other people, they will not stop during this pandemic,” he said. “People are vulnerable. I feel like people right now are isolated … and that is the perfect time for these scumbags, scammers, con artists and imposters to come after innocent people.”
After hearing from both Sixx and Michaels, Tina declared: “I was scammed and I admit it.”
Most of the Sixx and Michaels Dr. Phil episode was posted to the show’s YouTube page and can be seen below. The segments specifically featuring Sixx and Michaels are available only at the show’s website.