Claim to Fame's Season Premiere Ends With an Epic Tantrum by an A-Lister's Relative

[Editor’s Note: This post contains spoilers for Claim to Fame Season 2, Episode 1, “Megastars and Meltdowns.”]

It's already great news that Claim to Fame is back on TV. It's even better news that the season premiere culminated in a massive tantrum by the eliminated contestant, who turned out to be the niece of two-time Oscar winner and legitimate Hollywood A-lister, Tom Hanks.

Things seemed to be going okay for Carly for most of the episode. She was playing the game shrewdly, seeking out challenge winner Travis and fellow player Hugo to pool resources and help figure out clues. Sure, she was significantly rattled by the clue wall, which, according to her, offered some pretty obvious clues as to the identity of her claim to fame. But she certainly didn't expect to be in danger of elimination in Episode 1.

But eliminated she was, and by her ostensible ally Hugo, no less! After being voted into the precarious position of guesser, Hugo called Carly to the front and made his best guess as to her celebrity relative: Tom Hanks. Carly, who was already shocked and perturbed that Hugo would call her out ("I helped you!"), stood helplessly by as the video screen revealed the truth: Tom Hanks is indeed her uncle, making Carly the first eliminated contestant of the season.

Tears from eliminated reality-show contestants aren't exactly rare. But Carly clearly had a hard time with the result. She upbraided Hugo ("I helped you, I frickin' helped you!"), getting increasingly upset. But when she walked off the set, things got amazing. Carly's banshee shriek as she returned to the house to collect her things was followed by a tirade against production for making the clues on the wall too easy. "The frickin' bench in the frickin' poster of frickin' Forrest Gump, are you kidding me?!" Even her fellow contestants weren't safe, as Carly loudly dragged production for giving clues that "even Gabriel found that out, he's not even smart!" (Gabriel: "That's cold.")

Carly's tirade continued as she packed her things, careening into more classically Hollywood space. "I don't deserve this," she wailed. "I should have more camera time! I should be here longer!"

I have to post the full #ClaimtoFame first boot because I'm obsessed with it.

Watching Tom Hanks's niece throw a shit fit about not getting enough camera time after getting eliminated first in a reality show feels so fitting for the simulation that is 2023 pic.twitter.com/xCXhSA7bX4

— Mike Bloom (@AMikeBloomType) June 27, 2023

One imagines Carly's tantrum might make the next Hanks family get-together a bit awkward. Tom isn't exactly a stranger to dealing with embarrassing family members, so maybe he won't even notice.

Claim to Fame airs Monday nights at 8:00 PM ET on ABC. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.