Thomas John (medium)

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Thomas John
Thomas John closeup.jpg
Born
Thomas John Flanagan
NationalityAmerican
Other namesLady Vera Parker[1][2]
OccupationSelf-described Psychic medium
Websitewww.mediumthomas.com
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Thomas John Flanagan, known professionally as Thomas John, is an American purported psychic medium and former drag queen.[2] He has been called the "Manhattan Medium" and starred in the 2018 reality TV show, "Seatbelt Psychic", and the CBS All Access series The Thomas John Experience beginning in June 2020. In January 2020, John began a live show at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, which was unexpectedly cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the show's suspension, John continued to do group readings using the Internet with sessions attended by hundreds of fans.[3]

John has been the subject of significant criticism, from using information acquired from audience Facebook accounts during group readings to exploitatively using children for an event.

Early life[]

According to John, he had his first psychic experience when he was 4 years old and saw his deceased grandfather.[4] He has recounted that he experienced his grandfather in a room when he was physically not there, in addition to having seen his grandfather at birthday parties.[5]

He indicates that he receives the spirit's communication in numerous different formats. Of that, he explains:

It comes to me in all different way. It depends on how the spirits feel they can get their messages through. I can see things, feel things, hear things...it is all different.[6]

John has also described his encounters with spirits as vague details coming up first and specifics spoken to him after.[7]

Drag queen career[]

John has performed in drag around Chicago under the name Lady Vera Parker.[1][2]

Mediumship career[]

Thomas John on stage in 2017

John first started working professionally as a medium in his mid-20s, and has worked in New York City and Los Angeles. John gives private readings to clients and holds speaking events in person and online.[8][9]

The Thomas John Experience[]

John stars in the reality TV show The Thomas John Experience, which premiered on June 4, 2020, on CBS All Access.[10] The show was recorded in cities around the United States including New Orleans, Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles.[11]

Caesars Palace 2020[]

A Las Vegas Magazine review praised John's live show at Cleopatra's Barge inside Caesars Palace, which premiered on January 16, 2020, saying "Weaving in and out of the audience, John announces correct names, places and exact details, much to the astonishment and excitement of the audience..."[12] The show was put on indefinite hiatus on March 16, 2020.[13]

Dead Serious Musical[]

A musical based on John's life and experiences titled Dead Serious premiered off-Broadway in July 2019. Co-written by Michelle Wendt and John, the musical pulled from John's personal stories, exploring his journey as a medium. Dead Serious played from July through September 2019 at the Theatre Center in New York City.[14]

Seatbelt Psychic[]

Lifetime produced a reality TV show starring John called Seatbelt Psychic. This show began its run on July 11, 2018, and stars John as a ridesharing company driver who surprises passengers when he delivers messages from their deceased relatives.[15][16][17]

Criticism[]

Several media organizations have promoted John, claiming he has paranormal powers,[18] including Vogue magazine,[7] The Hollywood Reporter,[16] SF Weekly,[19] WJBK,[20] and WPIX.[15] In a 2019 television segment on Last Week Tonight, John Oliver criticized the media for promoting TV psychics such as John because this exposure convinces viewers that psychic powers are real, and so enable neighborhood psychics to prey on grieving families. Oliver said, "...when psychic abilities are presented as authentic, it emboldens a vast underworld of unscrupulous vultures, more than happy to make money by offering an open line to the afterlife, as well as many other bullshit services." [21][22]

John has steadfastly denied performing online research of those who attend his shows.[23] John's co-producer Alan Glist says that psychics are an inviting and common target of skeptics, adding, "Unfortunately, there is always that group of people that are trying to bring psychics and mediums down and non-believers. I can tell you firsthand I have seen Thomas in action and have brought people, and he had no idea were going to be there and he has given them perfect readings." [23] Glist staged three presentations in Las Vegas before John being offered his residency at Caesar's Palace. Glist says, "In each presentation, we invited people and brought in total strangers and never gave him a list or gave him any indication as to who was going to be there. And I've watched him on three different occasions literally work the room reading total strangers and nailing the names of their family members who are deceased and talked about them in great detail." [23]

In March 2017, John was accused of doing a hot reading in a sting operation planned and implemented by Susan Gerbic and mentalist Mark Edward. Gerbic and Edward attended John's show using aliases, and John "read" them as a married couple. During the entire reading, John failed to determine the actual identities of Gerbic and Edward, or that they were deceptive during his reading. All personal information he gave them matched what was on their falsified Facebook accounts, rather than being about their actual lives.[24][1]

In early 2021, John announced plans to hold a "Virtual Spirit Circle for Children" on April 19.[25][26] Upon learning of this event, neurologist Steven Novella criticized what he saw as its exploitative and dangerous nature.[9] Shortly after the event, Susan Gerbic stated that skeptics had unsuccessfully tried to get the event cancelled. Failing in that effort, Gerbic said she infiltrated the Zoom session and placed two children with fabricated backstories in the group. In his readings for both children the information John provided reflected the false backstories which Gerbic had provided to him via email when arranging the children's attendance.[27]

Legal issues[]

In 2009, John was arrested and pleaded guilty to theft and computer fraud for posting fake apartment ads on Craigslist and stealing the security deposits from renters.[28][29]

Bibliography[]

  • John, Thomas (25 February 2015). Never Argue with a Dead Person: True and Unbelievable Stories from the Other Side. Hampton Roads Publishing. ISBN 978-1571747242.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Hitt, Jack (February 26, 2019). "Inside the Secret Sting Operations to Expose Celebrity Psychics". New York Times. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Slattery, Denis (25 July 2015). "'Manhattan Medium' Thomas John has celeb clientele — and shady past as scammer and drag queen". NYdailynews.com. NY Daily News. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  3. ^ Gerbic, Susan (September 28, 2020). "Operation Lemon Meringue – Thomas John". Skepticalinquirer.org. CFI. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Beck, Laura (November 1, 2016). "What It's Really Like to Be a Psychic Who Also Communes With the Dead". Cosmopolitan.
  5. ^ "Q&A: Psychic Medium Thomas John". Boca Magazine. October 11, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Wellington, Laura J. ""Prince took his time crossing-over," said Celebrity Psychic Thomas John". THREAD MB. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Anderson, Kristin (15 October 2016). "How a Celebrity Psychic Turned One Proud Skeptic Into a Believer". Vogue.com. Vogue. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  8. ^ Sorren, Martha (July 11, 2018). "How Much Does A Thomas John Appointment Cost? The 'Seatbelt Psychic' Is Still Taking Private Readings". Bustle.
  9. ^ a b Novella, Steven (February 3, 2021). "Psychic Mediums and Grieving Children". sciencebasedmedicine.org\. Science-Based Medicine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "CBS ALL ACCESS' NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES "THE THOMAS JOHN EXPERIENCE" TO PREMIERE ON THURSDAY, JUNE 4". ViacomCBS Press Express. ViacomCBS. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Sarner, Lauren (June 2, 2020). "Celebrity medium Thomas John dishes on new CBS show and naysayers". New York Post.
  12. ^ Miyasato, Kiko. "Thomas John Connects with Las Vegas Audiences". lasvegasmagazine.com. Las Vegas Magazine. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  13. ^ "A list of Las Vegas Strip closures in the wake of the coronavirus crisis". Las Vegas Magazine. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  14. ^ Clement, Olivia (June 27, 2019). "Psychic and Medium Thomas John to Bring Dead Serious Off-Broadway". Playbill.
  15. ^ a b Ramos, Andrew (28 June 2018). "Renowned medium Thomas John spooks ride-share passengers in 'Seatbelt Psychic'". pix11.com/. PIX 11. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  16. ^ a b Gardner, Chris (June 22, 2018). "'Seatbelt Psychic' Thomas John on New Lifetime Show: "Skeptics are Definitely Welcome"". hollywoodreporter.com. Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  17. ^ Blanton, Kayla (July 11, 2019). "How Do You Get On 'Seatbelt Psychic'? The Contestants On Lifetime's Reality Series Get A Reading In Addition To Their Ride". Bustle. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  18. ^ Pevos, Edward (16 November 2017). "We can't explain our encounter with psychic medium Thomas John: See for yourself". Mlive.com. Michigan Live. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  19. ^ Quick, Quentin (29 June 2018). "Celebrity Medium Thomas John Breaks on Through (To the Other Side)". SFweekly.com. SF Weekly. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  20. ^ "Psychic medium Thomas John returns for show in West Bloomfield April 12". Fox2detroit.com. Fox News. 12 April 2018. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  21. ^ Horton, Adrian (February 25, 2019). "John Oliver on psychics: 'A vast underworld of unscrupulous vultures'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  22. ^ "Psychics: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)". Youtube. LastWeekTonight. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  23. ^ a b c "Incoming Las Vegas Strip headliner Thomas John faces the skeptics". Las Vegas Review-Journal. October 24, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  24. ^ Gerbic, Susan (February 21, 2019). "Operation Pizza Roll- Thomas John". Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  25. ^ "Virtual Spirit Circle for Children". mediumthomas.com. Thomas John. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  26. ^ "Virtual Spirit Circle for Children - April 19th, 2021". thomas-john-inc.myshopify.com. Thomas John. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  27. ^ Gerbic, Susan (June 10, 2021). "Operation Onion Ring – Thomas John and the Children". skepticalinquirer.org. CFI. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021. He did not see through the characters; he did not know these were died in the wool scientific skeptics.
  28. ^ Shaff, Jay (9 July 2009). "Drag Queen Lady Vera Parker Arrested In Chicago". On Top Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  29. ^ Slattery, Denis (23 March 2016). "Manhattan psychic who ran Craigslist scam sued for owing money to PR firm hired to fix his image". nydailynews.com. NY Daily News. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.

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