Since Covid took over the world, scamming has been at an all time high. From lying on applications for PPP loans, to people pretending to be hair stylists to collect “deposits’ and not providing services. A few people reached out to us to complain about what they say is a new scam. Paying for casting call information.
A woman going by Instagram name @Naomi_nocampbell says a Florida man named Toye Whitaker, going by Supa The Barber, told her he was a casting director that has worked for many movies, music videos and reality tv. She says she paid him $350.00 to join his group/team to provide casting call information, but once she started asking questions, she says he kicked her out and refused to refund her money.
Here are screenshots of the group’s conversation where he offers casting info and suggests people take acting classes.
When another member in the group spoke up about feeling like they have been played, Whitaker says he sends them castings that are public but also castings that he knows about exclusively.
@Naomi_nocampbell then spoke up about feeling that $350.00 was not worth the generic information being given, and she says he kicked her out the group.
Once she saw she had been removed, she texted Whitaker directly.
Another woman going by IG user name @courtney_pa1ge2 says he told her he was a casting director with a team, and also took her $350.00. She says he is sometimes an extra on set, and takes video and pictures of production filming, pretending that he had something to do with it. She says one incident occurred on set at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.
We reached out to Whitaker and he spoke with us to give his side of the story. We told him we had received numerous reports against him saying he was scamming people, and he said,
“A lot of people don’t even know where to look for castings. I worked with an agent for a year, so I figured out who’s casting for what, and then when I get a lot of the new reality shows, I just consolidate everything in one group. Plus I also do consulting. People don’t know what kind of pictures to submit. They submit pictures with glasses and hats on, they don’t know how to do a self taped audition, monologue etc… so I charge a fee to join my team. If you join my team you take advantage of all of that. You get discounts on photo shoots, discounts on acting classes, plus you get help and everything in the consolidated group. Now some people want me to submit for them, but when I send it to them in writing, I didn’t agree to do that. If they didn’t wanna join, don’t join, you can find casting yourself.”
WCD: Now before you take their payment, you tell them upfront what the $350 is for?
TW: Yes ma’am, and then I send it to them in writing. See the ones that are successful, they happy. Sometimes I will call them directly and tell them what they need to do to submit for it. So it’s more than just getting the information. I’m taking my time answering questions, taking calls and replying to text messages, so this is also consulting. I’m a celebrity barber doing $75 to $100 hair cuts. If I’m taking time away from that to help you do stuff, I’m gonna charge a fee.
WCD: So why are people saying you’re scamming?
TW: Scamming is when you say you gonna do something, take the money and don’t do it. I posted your story about the dude that was scamming and setting girls up to get raped. (Read story here https://webcelebdaily.com/2021/08/10/scammer-exposed-by-trey-songz-is-back-at-it-and-threatening-victims-lives/ )
I’m not that kind of person, I believe in Jesus and he always blesses the righteous. I helped a girl who wanted to get her pole dancing business out there, and I had the perfect casting for it. I said Jamie Foxx is casting a movie and I sent her the info and showed her how to submit, and she got casted making $1300.00 a day. She only paid me $350.00.
WCD: So we did reach out to casting directors, and they said that under no circumstances should talent pay for casting information. They said casting info is free, and the most they would pay is a few dollars a month to a company like Backstage that allows talent to submit their work, pics etc… for legit casters trying to find talent. What do you say to that?
TW: I’m not just giving them casting info though, its a package deal with the discounts on photo shoots and acting classes and my consulting. I’m not charging people just for casting. If I gotta show you how to do all this stuff, you gotta get charged a fee. Being in my group is a bonus. I tell big casting companies I’m going to share this information to my team and they are getting ready to submit. I also tell them what’s legit and what’s not because some of these girls are just so desperate and gullible, they’ll fall for a fake casting.
He says there are times he is casting himself for videos, shows, parties etc. He says if he knows the Associate Director, he will just tell talent to show up on set. He says that may be where the confusion comes from, because sometimes he can just cast himself, and other times people within his group will have to actually submit on their own without them.
He sent screen shots of a person saying they are not having the same issue as the other people and does actually get booked.
We also reached out to the woman who was said to be casted in Jamie Foxx’s movie, however, she has not responded to verify the validity of it. We also reached out to the people that contacted us to verify if anything was submitted in writing, all stated that they were never given anything in writing, and no other services outside of being sent public casting info was done.
We asked Whitaker about the people who say they never received anything in writing, he then said sometimes its verbal, and sometimes he sends a text or a message via social media advising what will take place. But says he never gives a contract. He also says that out of over 140 people on his “team”, only three were unhappy, however we did see complaints from more than three people. When we asked about refunds, he says anyone that came to him professional would not get a refund, but if someone comes to him directly outside of the group message and have not used his contacts yet, he may issue one.
Whitaker is registered with public casting sites Backstage and Project Casting as an actor, rapper and barber, but not as a casting director.
What do you think? Is this a legit business or a scam? Let us know in our comments on Instagram.
