A random text, a rat, Christmas dinner, and a viral moment eventually led to quite the story for Katie Couric. However, while this story is crazy, it turned out to be too good to be true, as the journalist revealed while chronicling the exchange on her Instagram.
Couric received a text from a stranger, who called herself Susan on Wednesday. Susan was beside herself because there was supposedly a rat in her toilet. The journalist was confused because she didn’t have the number, and the conversation went on from there, which she posted to Instagram, and you can read here:
As you can see, the woman did not believe she was texting the real Katie Couric, and the reporter ended up sending her a photo of herself to prove it. Then Susan responded, saying:
According to the texts Susan’s son caught the rat in some Tupperware, and he wanted to name the rodent Splinter. They then discussed Couric going over for Christmas because her posts about the texts had gone viral. Susan then explained that the journalist couldn’t just show up, she had to clean first. Which Couric posted a screenshot of:
The conversation ended with Couric wishing Susan luck at her upcoming doctor's appointment and urging her to stop smoking.
Turns out Couric should have been questioning Susan’s identity too, since it ended up being a scam as she wrote in her caption. The Jeopardy guest host wrote an update in her caption that said:
Okay… I am so disappointed. I think this is a scam. A friend of mine got the same text. I don’t think Susan is real. I’m so sad. (A famous friend of mine got the same text and immediately blocked it.) But look how this brought us together? So there’s that. Take care Susan, and even if you’re not really Susan, I hope if you do smoke that you’ll quit.
While it’s a big bummer it ended up being a scam, Couric hasn’t lost her holiday spirit (as you can see in her other holiday posts), and many people have been thoroughly amused by the entire interaction.
Former Real House Wives of New York star Bethenny Frankel however, was not falling for it, as she commented:
OMG I’m dying that you all thought that was real. I instantly blocked
Others, like Naomi Watts, star of one of David Lynch’s best movies Mulholland Drive, may not have seen the update and commented:
Like the old days when strangers used to talk to each other and help each other out. ❤️❤️🙌🙌 The Best!!
And a few others, like Scandal star Kerry Washington, were simply amused by the situation, and commented:
I approve this message! #StopSmokingSusan 😂
Even though this wild situation is sketchier than Dwayne Johnson pranking Ryan Reynolds or some of Jim’s best prinks from The Office, Couric is making light of the situation, and she is treating the scam with a good sense of humor. And who knows, maybe after this entire situation Susan, if that’s even their real name, will stop smoking.
