The mastermind of the Manti Te’o hoax, the man who played the fake girlfriend of Te’o, talked to TV host Dr. Phil. The 22-year-old Ronaiah Tuiasosopo spoke publicly for the first time on TV, saying as a child, he was repeatedly molested, by someone who was close to his father, a church pastor and youth minister.
“I felt that I couldn’t do things, accomplish things, pursue things, live out as Ronaiah,” Tuiasosopo said to Phil. “And I felt the need to create this. It has everything to do with what I went through as a child.”
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Ronaiah Tuiasosopo said he built the online persona of Lennay Kekua because it allowed him to live in an alternate reality, and helped validate that he was a good person. “When I looked at Lennay through Manti’s eyes, I got a glimpse of who I was as far as my heart,” said Tuisasosopo.
Te’o and his family had no immediate comment on Friday.