Max Joseph Leaving MTV’s ‘Catfish’ After 7 Seasons
A chapter is closing on Catfish.Max Joseph, one of the show’s co-hosts, announced today that this will be his last season on the MTV reality show. His final episode will air Wednesday, August 22 at 9 PM
“Hey guys, the time has come, sadly, for me to move on from ‘Catfish’. Working on this show for the last seven years has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I’ve learned a lot about myself, my country and human nature in general. Nev and I have become brothers and our bromance has blossomed before your eyes,” Joseph said in a statement.
“For a while now I have been straddling two careers as TV host and filmmaker and, while this level of busy-ness is a dream come true, my life can no longer sustain it,” he continued. “With ‘Catfish’ still going strong after 7 seasons, 115 episodes, 31 specials and showing no sign of slowing down, I feel it is finally the time for me to make my exit.
“Although I have a heavy heart, I am also excited for everything that’s to come for myself, for Nev, for our crew and for the show. Thank you for watching, thank you for the love and for the memes.”
In a statement, Nev Schulman thanked Joseph for his time on the show and the experiences they discussed.
“Working with Max on ‘Catfish’ has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life,” said Schulman. “What started as a casual friendship quickly turned into a brotherhood. Thanks to Max, over the last six years I’ve learned as much about the internet and society as I have about myself. Max isn’t just a co-host, he’s a partner. His ability to listen, empathize and advise is astounding. Nobody cuts through the noise and dishes the hard truth better than he does. I’m going to miss him a lot. He’s my best friend and one of the best colleagues anyone could hope for. As sad as I am though that Max is leaving the show, it brings me great joy to know that he is following his heart. While selfishly I’d love to keep him all to myself, I know that unleashing the creativity and passion that he has will benefit so many of us. If you don’t already know about Max’s amazing work as a filmmaker, check out his website maxjoseph.com. Good luck, my friend, and there’s really no excuse why you can’t video chat in from time to time ;)”
The show temporarily halted production in May after host and exec producer Schulman was accused of sexual misconduct. MTV resumed production of the reality show after an investigation found the claims to be “not credible and without merit.”
“Although we never received a formal complaint, MTV and Critical Content immediately engaged an independent third party investigator,” said MTV in a statement given to Deadline at the time. “The independent investigator found the allegations made in the YouTube videos to be not credible and without merit.”
The statement continued, “Given the results of the investigation, Catfish will resume filming. We take these matters very seriously and are committed to providing a safe working environment.”
The allegations surfaced in May after Ayissha Morgan, who appeared on the show three years ago, posted a video claiming that Schulman harassed her during production.
Schulman denied the allegations saying, “The behavior described in this video did not happen and I’m fortunate that there are a number of former colleagues who were present during this time period who are willing to speak up with the truth. I have always been transparent about my life and would always take responsibility for my actions – but these claims are false.”
Catfish follows Schulman and Joseph as they uncover the true identities of people’s online love interests. The series is based on the 2010 documentary Catfish, which tracked the deceptive online romance in which Schulman became caught up.
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