For John Franklin, The Circle was all about family. There was, of course, the fact that he was catfishing as his own mother Carol, presenting a profile of a woman more than twice his age. He used that image to bring the players into his “Circle family,” and Mama Carol became the head of the household as one of the first influencers. Unfortunately, that’s the last time John would be at the top of the food chain moving forward. As time went on, contestants began to compare notes and poke holes in Carol’s presentation, sending her plummeting to the bottom of the rankings. Despite being cornered, John continued to fight, quite literally in a war of words with Yu Ling Wu. Unfortunately for him, she was one of the two influencers to send him packing, but not before he gave Eversen Bevelle some warning words. Read on to hear John’s thoughts on his time in the game. And check out Parade.com throughout The Circle season 4 with the various players and catfishes alike. What made you decide to enter The Circle? I’m a fan of the show. I love the show. And I was in between jobs. And I was like, “Alright, I’m going to apply for jobs and apply for The Circle. And whatever happens first, I’m going to go with it.” I got the job and then ended up auditioning and getting on The Circle, which was crazy. But I just remember watching the first season during the pandemic and being like, “This seems like something I could do.” I will never be on a dating show; it’s not my thing. But there’s like a game element to this. There’s a fun element to this. And the coolest part for me is that after it’s done, in every season, it’s not like there’s beef. Because you’ve lived this crazy, unique experience, you’ve lived it together, it all just subsides, and you become a family. It’s wild. So, at what point in the process did you come up with the idea of catfishing as your mom? When I got the first call, I remember talking to whoever was casting and being like, “Maybe I’ll go in as myself.” Then they asked for other ideas, and I just threw out my mom as an idea. I’ve always been a very parental figure to my friends. Always the person everybody goes to. I’m easy to talk to; I love being that person. And I thought of my mom right away. So I call her, and I say, “Mom, I need 15 pictures of you. No questions asked.” [Laughs.] I always find a superficial element to like being 24 or 25 now on social media. I can come across as what I think is genuine, and people find it to be fake. But it’s really my personality. And it comes across well as a mom, which is crazy, but it works. You work in social media, and there were a lot of comments about how well-spoken you were as Carol. How many of those skills from your job help you in The Circle? So that’s more the journalism major. That’s just me knowing words like that. When you’re on social media for a brand, you’re working for a brand. That brand has a voice, yet you’re a little bit of a part of it. But the brand is kind of like your wall. Nobody’s coming after you. But when you’re representing yourself, you’re like, “Am I going to do this? Am I going to say this on the show?” Even behind being my mom, I was really a lot of the time just speaking as myself, just putting the words in the right direction. I guess it is sort of like a brand. My mom was a brand almost at that point. But the thought was my own. You started strong, being one of the first influencers of the season. But it seemed like the more time that passed, the more people targeted you as a catfish and a gamer. How difficult was it to manage the image and the facade as the game went on? So you’ve built like this pseudo-brand of the “Mama Carol” thing. People like you whether they think you’re a catfish or not. The way I played the game, especially with those first seven players, I was not really shady. Everything was very upfront, as far as I’m concerned. But then, as people start getting added in, that doesn’t matter. Those relationships are not there. In the beginning, I was taking on the job of catfish hunting. And then Rachel came in and was like, “That’s my job now.” It’s hard to keep it rolling for a while. And it definitely is mentally draining. You’re trying to power through with this idea. I’m still my mom. But it never deterred me from playing the game. I still had fun. Even when people were cracking down on me, I wasn’t freaking out. When Rachel came after me, I wasn’t like, “Oh, I’m screwed.” I was like, “Alright, rival, we’re gonna do it!” [Laughs.] It was just so awesome to experience that whole thing. This season, we see a few people call you out as a catfish yet keep you around because they feel they have your trust. How does it feel to watch that back, knowing they saw right through the facade but still wanted you for their games? I think it goes back to my original message of being a trustworthy person. But on that superficial outside, you might think somebody my age isn’t. And I think the whole thing of people wanting to keep me around, whether they knew who I was or not, shows that there is an inherent good side to people. There is this willingness to trust people and believe that your actions are so valuable even though you might not say who you are. And I always felt everything I did, whether it was my face or my mom’s face, I would have done the same thing I would have done 100 times out of 100. There was no gamer mentality. This is me; this is how I’m going to do it. And if it works, it works. If you hate me, you hate me. If you love me, you love me. That’s been my mentality my whole life. I’m sticking to it. To that point, there were many comments this season from other players that you were playing one of the most strategic games. Did that surprise you? I think what happens a lot is, when you get competitive, that side comes out. But I’ve never really felt that way. So that perception really, really is interesting. At the end of the day, it’s a game. You’re playing a game for money, and there’s not that much trust already. So I wasn’t doing it thinking I was gaming around. I was just trying to genuinely get to know people and do these things. Because I thought it would work. And I guess because I was doing it and it was working. It was perceived as gamesmanship. When actually, I won’t shut the [expletive] up! [Laughs.] Like I will talk to anybody. I will talk to a wall; I will talk to your goldfish until we’re going to get sushi that night. So it was never gameplay. Let’s talk about some of your key relationships this season. Bru was one of the people you were closest with. Was it weird to build a dynamic with this guy your age who thinks you’re this much older woman? It was really cool. I’ll say it 100 times about Bru: He’s the nicest guy in the world. We’ve become such good friends after the show. I’m going to stay at his place in a month. But in the middle of it, you just see this character you know from TikTok, and you don’t know how real that is or if he’s just playing a character. It’s been so cool to be friends with him now. But pretending to be a 60-year-old woman named Carol and being his “Circle mom” is a weird start to a friendship. (Laughs.) You and Frank blocked Parker after you suspected the “Paul” profile was a catfish. She came to visit you, and I think we all noticed some sparks there. What’s your relationship like now? A very fair question. [Laughs.] Parker and I are super good friends. She did come to visit Hoboken and met a lot of my friends. She actually met Carol, which was wild. But, especially since Parker moved to LA, we’ve just been very close friends. We’ve gotten along like thick as thieves since the show. She’s one of my best friends. So yeah, nothing romantic! You were really getting into it with Yu Ling in the chats during your last couple of days in the game. Was that you having fun, as you said before, or were you harboring some feelings against her for her trying to call you out? That stunk! That’s a very base, childish way to say it. So the whole thing happens with the virus. And you’re only dealing with your perspective from your own room. And I always felt like there was this strong thing going on with me, Yu Ling, and Alyssa. And Bru had Alyssa to create this big web. And then Yu Ling saves Rachel, and then Alyssa goes home. So obviously, I’m upset because Alyssa and I had our little thing going. And in Yu Ling’s first message after, she says something along the lines of, “I’m so sad to see somebody go.” And I’m like, “You could have saved her!” The only person who had no option to save anybody was me. At a certain point, when you’re pretending to be your mother, and you’re playing a game, and there’s money involved, you can be at your wit’s end. And that might have been mine. And I love Yu Ling to death. I do not blame her for anything or any decision. You never know what’s going on on the other end. But I was like, “Alright, if that’s what’s going to happen, it’s what’s going to happen. If I’m going home, I’m going to tell Eversen who to work with.” It’s just one of those things where you’re like, “Alright, you’re going to go play this game. I’m not in anymore, and you haven’t been here. So here’s the information. Take it and use it. You don’t have to use it. But that’s the perspective you’re going to get.” Admittedly, this is an odd question since you didn’t play as yourself. But did you learn anything about yourself during your time in The Circle? I mean, at the bare minimum, the amount of people you can be friends with and care about are so different. There’s not a spectrum that ends somewhere. It’s endless. There are so many different walks of life that you might not know. It’s so valuable to see how much my relationships with my cast members matter to one another. Anybody could do anything. I mean, even if people didn’t believe that I was my mom, there had to been some level of belief that a 65-year-old woman from New Jersey is on the show right now. And my mom is so hyped and so excited. It just teaches you so much perspective about genuine happiness and friendship and relationships. Next, check out our interview with Alyssa Ljubicich, who was eliminated in The Circle Season 4 Episode 9.
