Chris "Birdman" Andersen was at the center of one of the craziest cases of catfishing ever. It was so insane that Nev Schulman of MTV's Catfish had to get his side of the story. It all started with a harmless comment on Facebook from a 17-year-old girl...
Catfish: The TV Show
The term "catfishing" comes from the act of someone stealing another person's pictures and posing as them on social media. Most of the time, this is done for romantic endeavors or revenge tactics. The story of Birdman exceeded every catfish story that expert Nev Schulman had ever seen. "What this catfish was able to accomplish is not only sophisticated, but incredibly manipulative, emotionally very traumatic, and at the same time wildly creative and somewhat impressive."
Catastrophic Circumstances
Chris "Birdman" Andersen was playing for the Denver Nuggets when he was nearly taken down by a catfish. One day, while heading down to the Pepsi Center in Denver for a basketball game, Birdman got pulled over on the side of the highway by two police officers. At first, he maybe thought he was speeding or his tail light was out, but it was something beyond his suspicions...
Serving a Search Warrant
The officers who pulled him over told him that they were serving him a search warrant. Another group of police officers was already on their way to his home. Chris wasn't sure why they would need a search warrant. He hadn't done anything illegal...
Special Police Unit
Birdman was informed that the group of officers heading to his home weren't just regular enforcement officers—they were part of the Internet Crimes Against Children unit. They worked with cases related to offenses concerning the endangerment of children. Birdman told them that he had no idea what they were talking about.
He Needed His Lawyer
The responding officers informed him that he wasn't under arrest and could move throughout his day normally, but that they would be in contact with him. Birdman immediately told his lawyer what was going on who then went to look deeper into the case. In the meantime, Birdman was cleared to head to his game.
Not Allowed In
Somehow, his team caught wind of the situation before he could even get there. When he tried to get into the locker room, he wasn't allowed inside. He told them that he didn't know what was going on and that he had done nothing wrong, but it was too late. They told him to go home.
The Media Caught On
It didn't take long for news stations to begin reporting on the situation. Every major sports news outlet was reporting on the accusations that Birdman was facing. That's how he learned about what was really going on...
The Allegations Were Spreading
Birdman went and turned on the TV only to see his face all over the media. Apparently, he was being investigated for child molestation. That was a heavy term to hear in association with his name. Birdman had absolutely how he had been pinned at the center of a scandal like this...
His Life Was Falling Apart
Naturally, people began assuming the worst. No one wanted to hear his side of the story, and by that point, Birdman didn't even know what was true. People were calling him all sorts of names on the internet. This was an especially bad time since his team was getting a lot of media attention already for having a great season.
Chris Andersen's Life
Birdman was born in Iola, Texas. He played basketball for all of his life and even attributes it to helping him stay out of trouble when he was a teenager. He landed his dream job on the NBA soon after college. At one point, the fame got to his head and it all became too much. He even got suspended from the NBA at one point. He had reached a lot point in his life...
Totally Changed
Everyone was shocked to see him turn his life around after rehab. When his suspension was lifted, the Nuggets welcomed him back onto the team after the Hornets terminated their deal. He was totally different, which was why the new allegations against him were so shocking...
Paris Roxanne
At the time of the scandal, Paris Roxanne was 17-years-old. She lived in Southern California with her mother and was an aspiring model. Sadly, when Birdman and Paris began talking, he didn't know that she was so young... She loved trying to talk to celebrities on social media, and Birdman was just another person that she tried to get in contact with.
All On Facebook
On a whim, she reached out to Birdman over Facebook. All she wrote to him was, "Hey, how's it going?" She didn't think she'd get a response...
He Replied
Somehow, he replied. He wrote back to her, "I see you are a fan." She was so excited that she finally got someone to respond. They eventually had a casual conversation that turned into a friendship.
She Had Secrets
Paris made sure never to reveal her age to Birdman. She didn't want him to know that she was underage or else he'd stop talking to her. They were both attracted to each other and wanted to hang out, so Chris brought her to Denver for a fun weekend.
Finally Meeting
Paris got off the plane and met Chris at the airport. He took her to his house and introduced her to his friends. They also had fun playing Xbox and cooking dinner. Nothing seemed off at first...
Some Things Didn't Add Up
At some points, Chris had made some remarks that didn't make sense to her. At one point, he said, "Look, your sister must be on your Xbox." Paris was confused because she didn't have an Xbox... She assumed he was probably just mistaken and didn't want to correct him.
Another Weird Mistake
At one point, Chris asked her about her trip to Africa. She said, "I'm not going on any trip, what are you talking about?" In the end, they figured it was a weird misunderstanding. Unfortunately, that was not the case...
Enter Tom Taylor
Later, Paris brought up his friend, Tom Taylor. Paris had been talking to Tom since he and Birdman were friends. When she told him about Tom, he was confused. He didn't have a friend named Tom Taylor. Paris thought he was just messing with her and dropped the conversation. This should have been the biggest red flag...
Paris Was Alone
Birdman went to play a game and left Paris at his house. She started texting Tom and told him what Birdman said about him. Tom said Birdman was just messing around. Then, things got weird and scary for her. "He was telling me, 'Go take a picture of this, go put his hat on.' I remember being like, "I'm not going to go through the guy's stuff."
Things Get Scary
After that weekend, Paris went back to California. She was happy to have met Chris and was feeling good about their relationship. Then, the situation took a dangerous turn when she told Tom that she was doing to see Blake Griffin of the LA Clippers.
Threatening Texts
At one point, Paris got an extremely threatening and scary text from Tom Taylor. He threatened her with violence if she went to go see Black Griffin. Tom also said that Birdman sent Tom her nude photos and that he was going to leak them.
He Knew What He Was Doing
Tom sent Paris the proof that he had her photos. That was a terrifying and dangerous thing to hold over a 17-year-old. She was horrified at the thought of being blackmailed but she didn't want these photos out. So, she told her mother everything that was going on...
Paris Told Her Mother
Paris didn't know what else to do but to tell her mom. Her mother was extremely upset at the entire situation but knew that she needed to be there for her daughter. Paris told her mom that she lied about her age and what she was doing when she left the house, but the most important thing was that they had her nude photos and were going to release them. Her mom withheld her punishment for a moment to go and talk to the police.
Contacting Birdman
Birdman got an email from Paris' mother threatening legal action. Birdman had no idea that Paris was underage but was also unsure of what the blackmail part meant. His lawyer suggested that they pay her off to make her go away...
Launching an Investigation
The fact that they were paid off made Paris' mother even angrier. She did the right thing and went to the police, which launched the investigation. As Birdman was being investigated, the police found something weird about the text messages... They were being traced to Canada.
A New Face
Neither Paris nor Birdman knew anyone in Canada that could be involved. The police ended up tracing the signals back to a woman named Shelly Chartier in a small Canadian town...
Shelly Chartier
As it turns out, Paris and Birdman were talking to Shelly Chartier. She was the middleman between the two... Paris and Birdman never actually spoke to each other until they met in person. Shelly was the diabolical catfish.
It Was All a Game
The accounts of Birdman, Paris, and Tom were not her first accounts. In fact, she made fake profiles of hundreds of celebrities just so she could talk to people. She took things way too far when she got involved with Paris and Birdman... Somehow, it was all working out in her favor, so she ran with it.
A Master Manipulator
The only reason that the fake Tom Taylor profile exists was that Paris wasn't sure about meeting Birdman. She made Tom talk to her and tell her that Birdman really wanted to meet her. "I know you really like Chris. I can let you guys meet," Shelly wrote Paris. "He wants to meet you."
A Puppeteer
It all started when Shelly saw Paris comment on Birdman's Facebook posts. She then reached out to Paris through a fake account and made a fake account of Paris to talk to Birdman. Somehow, it all came together. She was a true puppet master.
Fake Paris Account
Somehow, she managed to get Birdman's attention with Paris's account, and everything fell into place. For some sick reason, she wanted to try and see if she could pull off actually getting them to meet without talking to each other. It all worked...
She Was Bored
She told police that she did it because she was bored. Her mother was sick and she was stuck at home. Plus, she knew she could get some money from the NBA player. Blackmailing Birdman seemed like a good idea to get more money, but it all fell apart when Paris did something that she wasn't expecting...
Where Is Shelly Now?
Shelly was arrested and convicted of misuse and fraud but only got a one-year prison sentence in Canada. If she were ever to go to the US, she has a warrant out for her arrest which would lead to a 24-year jail sentence. She's basically in hiding in Canada.
Birdman Was Innocent
Thankfully, word spread about the entire situation. Birdman was innocent and faced no penalties. Paris and Chris never spoke again... Nor did they want to. The two have left the past in the past. After all, Birdman already had a pretty checkered past.
Dream Career
Chris quickly became a fan favorite in the NBA. He was a young rookie but he had a lot of spirit and was a bit aggressive, which the fans liked. He found his true calling with the Denver Nuggets, where he was dubbed with his infamous nickname.
Birdman
He coined the name Birdman due to his soaring slam dunks. He quickly became a notable figure because of his tattoos as well, making him one of the most recognized players in the NBA. He was making money and had tons of fans who cheered him on. For a while, Birdman was living his best life.
MVP
Birdman was not only a great basketball player with an entire brand built up around him, but he was also commonly the MVP. Nuggets fans loved him and his rough and tumble attitude. Sadly, that would lead him to his first downfall in 2006...
Already Had a Scandal
Since he was such a notable character in the NBA, it was no surprise that he ended up having a particularly rough scandal on his hands. He had just secretly signed a deal with the New Orleans Hornets, but that was going to come crashing down because of his own actions...
Suspended from the NBA
In January of 2006, Birdman was suspended from the NBA due to his ongoing drug use. He was banned for two years. That ended up being the best thing that could have happened to him—he said that it put him back on track with his life.
Wake-Up Call
Getting suspended was a huge wake-up call. It really showed him that having a career with the NBA wasn't something to mess around with and can be taken away from you so easily. So, he turned his life around. He voluntarily entered rehab and came out even stronger.
Internet Modeling
Nowadays, Paris has several thousand followers on all of her social media pages. She's become a popular internet model and has even modeled for Playboy and Maxim.
Where Is She Now?
Paris now travels the world for photoshoots. She's currently dating Don McLean, the singer of "American Pie." She's no stranger to celebrities!