Why Does No One on ‘Claim to Fame’ Season 2 Know Chris’s Relative?

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Claim to Fame Season 2.]

Save for outright saying his name, Claim to Fame couldn’t make Chris’s relative more obvious. The man is an Osmond, people! And by people, we mean the Claim to Fame Season 2 cast, who sooner thought Elton John was from Utah before they remembered the Osmonds exist.

In case you haven’t put the clues together yet, Chris is Donny Osmond‘s son. This shouldn’t be a spoiler, as Season 2 Episode 8 revealed a clue that confirms this theory. The clue stated that Chris’s relative won Dancing With the Stars Season 9. Donny took home the mirror ball trophy with dance partner Kym Johnson that season, which aired in 2009.

The other clues revealed throughout the season also make Chris’s claim to fame clear. But for any doubters, we present to you the cold, hard proof:

 

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A post shared by Donny Osmond (@donnyosmond)

That sure looks like Chris! That’s because it is. Sure, Chris could arguably be Marie Osmond‘s son, or a son of another one of the Osmond brothers. But the caption above doesn’t lie. It literally says, “It’s my son, Chris.” Donny posted the above photo of his second-youngest son (he has five total) on Instagram on June 22, 2023. Claim to Fame Season 2 premiered days later on June 26. Here are the clues that make Chris’s connection to Donny clear, outside of his obviously close resemblance to his dad.

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Chris’s two truths and a lie at the beginning of the season stated that his uncle was a musician with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Osmond children are all musicians who earned a group star that says “The Osmond Family.” Chris’s bottle clue said “[puppy] + [heart] + [tee shirt] + N + [eye] + [doll],” plus seven t-shirts, aka “’70s.” There are also six brothers and one sister in the family, and they often wore matching outfits when performing. This explains the seven identical shirts on the clue. The puppy and the heart are hints at the song “Puppy Love,” one of the Osmond’s early hits. And the “[tee shirt] + N + [eye] + [doll]” means teen idol, which as we said, the Osmonds very much were.

Jane previously panicked thinking the “Puppy Love” clue was a reference to her aunt, Dolly Parton, who also has a song with the same name, but she didn’t put the pieces together correctly. Instead, she guessed Chris was related to Elvis Presley, which sent her home in Episode 3. More clues said his relative wore a colorful coat and was from Utah. The cast’s best guesses from this hint were John and Billy Idol. Hugo was eliminated for guessing John, and JR was eliminated for guessing Idol.

The “Rebel Yell” singer is known for wearing black leather jackets, not colorful coats. And it’s beyond us how they could possibly think that John, one of England’s most legendary musicians, is an American from Utah. That was a classic case of knowing a musician’s singing voice, but never hearing their speaking voice, we suppose. The Osmonds are also from Utah, and their success allowed them to open their own TV studio in the state in the ’70s (see below).

The colorful coat reference was another obvious clue for any loyal Osmond or theater fan. “The Twelfth of Never” singer starred in the film adaptation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat in 1999 in addition to playing the role on-stage.

The Osmond Family performing in front of an audience, at their own TV studio in Provo, Utah, 1978 (Credit: Everett Collection)

Now, we will admit that the Osmond family’s peak of fame was before anyone in this cast was born. And the cast doesn’t have internet or phone access, barring them from looking up their opponents’ possible family members (the show would be pointless if they did). But it’s not as if the Osmonds live completely out of the public eye nowadays. Donny is currently starring in an award-winning solo residency in Las Vegas, a show that started in 2021 and was extended into 2024 earlier this month. There was a Las Vegas residency clue tied to Chris, but the players incorrectly attributed that to John.

On top of it all, Chris just straight-up looks like an Osmond. But we understand why the cast thought he could be related to John Mayer or Jim Carrey based on his appearance. Playing the guitar in the talent show also strengthened their Mayer theory, but there’s no denying he’s Donny’s son. Clearly, this cast’s pop culture knowledge doesn’t extend decades back, outside of people more famous than the Osmonds, such as Parton, Presley, and President Jimmy Carter.

The two-hour Claim to Fame Season 2 finale airs on Monday, August 28, starting at 9/8c on ABC. Chris, Gabriel, Monay, and Karsyn are still left in the competition. Will the final episodes clues remind the remaining contestants that the Osmonds exist? Only time will tell.

Claim to Fame, Season 2 Finale, Monday, August 28, 9/8c, ABC