It’s been nearly a decade since the catfish scandal broke in the US. Now, Manti Te’o is ready to speak.
The lowdown
The latest in Netflix’s sports documentary series Untold, The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist has been in the streaming service’s top 10 charts since it was released last week. Kim Kardashian even shared on her Instagram that “this is a must-watch doco on Manti Te’o.”
In 2012, the American football player led Notre Dame to the national championship game in his senior year, after the deaths of his grandmother and his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua. He dedicated his final college season to both of them. The problem was that Kekua didn’t exist.
Ronaiah Tuiasosopo (Naya), a transgender woman, created a Facebook profile as Kekua, using another woman’s photos, and developed a relationship with Te’o. Te’o learned it was a hoax in December that year, after her supposed death. The hoax was publicised by sports news website Deadspin shortly after, and Te’o’s life and career were derailed.
The good
It’s hard not to sympathise with Te’o and his experience. The big question – how could Te’o fall for this scam? – is covered well by co-directors Tony Vainuku and Ryan Duffy.
The gut-wrenching moments in the doco are the experiences of Te’o and his family throughout the scandal, from his stock dropping in the NFL draft, the speculation around Te’o’s sexuality and his involvement in the hoax, not to mention the memes. All took a massive toll on his physical and mental health for years to come.
As a Pasifika journalist in Aotearoa, I was disgusted by how the mainstream media contributed to his downfall. It was a stunning display of film-making by Vainuku and Duffy showing the complexities of the newsroom. I do hope journalists around the world learn from Te’o’s experience being in the spotlight.
Within the reporting, there was no mana shown towards Te’o, his aiga (family) and his community in Laie, Hawai’i, who all play a strong role in his life.
There is an extra gravity of shame a Pacific person and their family goes through when someone is publicly humiliated. There are added layers of complexities when it comes to culture and putting a family name down. There was no cultural context given around Sāmoan culture, religion and sexuality. I doubt the journalists at the time understood that, and it perfectly illustrated the importance of having more Pasifika people tell our Pacific stories in the media.
This is part of why I wanted to get into journalism – it was tough growing up reading articles about South Auckland and Pacific people by reporters who have never walked a mile in my second-hand shoes. How did I want to change that? By being one of the reporters.
That’s why it felt so important having Tongan filmmaker Vainuku co-direct this docuseries. Vainuku was able to bring those Pacific elements – family, church, culture, morals, relationships – to the forefront, giving Te’o the justice he deserves by sharing his side of the story, painting his words, emotions, body language with mana.
The not-so-good
If you were hoping for Tuiasosopo to show remorse and empathy for the damage she caused Te’o and the amount of people she hurt along the way, you won’t get it in this series. You’ll likely have to watch the two episodes with a stress ball in hand.
The verdict
The documentary was well executed, ensuring the prime focus of the story was on Te’o and Tuiasosopo. You’ll come away from watching it with a huge amount of sympathy for Te’o and his aiga.
Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist is streaming now on Netflix.
This is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.