Hoax Alert: Casting Otherkin for new Animal Planet tv show | Otherkin General Discussion | Forums

A message has been posted on various otherkin mailing lists, livejournal communities, and forums.  It's even shown up on FurNation at this point.  The message reads:

“Hello,

I'm casting a new Animal Planet show following members of the Otherkin community. The intent of the show is to educate and explore all things Otherkin, so we are seeking authentic members of the Otherkin community only, and all Species are welcome. The series will document the lifestyle and beliefs of five individuals, while exploring through their eyes, what it means to be Otherkin in America. Those chosen to be featured on the show must be comfortable discussing their beliefs and showing their lifestyle on camera. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness and be heard. 

If you are interested, or know of someone who may be, please reply to otherkincasting@gmail.com with the following info…

1) NAME
2) CITY
3) SPECIES
4) MAIN REASON FOR WANTING TO DO SHOW
5) CONTACT NUMBER
6) RECENT PHOTO

Thank you for your submission, someone from our casting team will be in touch shortly.

Casting Department

Otherkincasting@gmail.com“

 

One of the members of the otherkin livejournal community contacted them, and received a response claiming to be from Zig Zag Productions, a uk-based company which just opened offices in New York.

 

I hate to break it to folks, but this is a scam.  The use of temporary addresses like otherkincasting@gmail.com and otherkincasting@yahoo.com to send and receive mail (especially multiple temporary addresses) should really be a big clue, as should the lack of identifying information in the original post.  Wouldn't a real casting department include the name of their company in such a message, not to mention an actual contact name at the company rather than a vague “Casting Department”?  But the biggest clue is found in examining the headers of those messages sent to the yahoogroups.  These messages originate from 75.67.26.4, which resolves to c-75-67-26-4.hsd1.ma.comcast.net, a comcast IP address in Halifax, Massachusetts.  Nowhere near any offices of Zig Zag Productions.

 

Please, please do not give out personal information to these people or record any video for them.  They are lying to you, and you will get burned.

 

I'd also advise against most otherkin participating in authentic media events at this time, but that's a whole different can of worms and really beside the point in this case.