The Circle Season 7 winners Nicky and Jojo Scarlotta did whatever it took to catfish their way to the cash—including studying women’s clothing sizes.
“We had a notebook with 40 pages worth of stuff. We were prepared for any circumstance or any outcome, so we were ready to go,” Nicky told DECIDER. The twin brothers, who catfished as Jojo’s girlfriend Gianna, learned everything from pants sizing to skincare and makeup routines in preparation.
The Circle Season 7 brings more drama, more humor, and of course, more catfishes. Behind a digital platform called “The Circle,” players must connect with each other and leave a good impression for a chance at winning $100,000. The game is, essentially, a popularity contest. Each week, competitors must rank each other from first to last. Some vote with their heads, while others vote with their hearts. Some flirt their way to the top, while others focus on building alliances (i.e. the “bro chat” and “Rachanna”).
The Scarlotta twins were not only notorious this season for their strategic gameplay, but their hilarious rivalry with Kevin Fernandez, whom they dubbed “the perm.” “We’re not going to be outsold by a frat boy,” said Jojo. “This isn’t going to happen. We worked on Wall Street.”
In an exclusive interview with DECIDER, the Scarlottas discussed enemies and alliances on the show, as well as what they’re streaming this week for Halloween.
DECIDER: Before we launch into the interview, did you guys watch the Yankee game last night? I know you guys are huge fans and probably have some thoughts.
Nicky Scarlotta: Couldn’t miss it for the world. We still got a pulse. We still got a fighting chance and that’s all we could ask for.
Jojo Scarlotta: If we would have lost, I would have shed a tear.
Nicky Scarlotta: Yeah, we wouldn’t have been too happy if the Yankees got swept at home. I don’t think the city would have been happy.
Do you have any bets going?
Jojo: No bets. But for us, it’s just been 15 years since the last World Series. It’s been a long time.
Nicky: I might have to put some parlays in tonight. I think they’re going to win tonight, and they’ll bring the series back to Los Angeles. We’ll see.
Jojo: Judge is going to have one tonight. He’s got it. He’s so due.
Nicky: Put Judge in the parlay. He’ll win.
Let’s jump into some Circle talk. You guys are already established TikTokers. What made you decide to try reality TV?
Jojo: It was such an amazing opportunity. We figured if we could get off TikTok, not get off per say, but move from TikTok and Instagram to a platform like Netflix, it could be huge for us.
Did you guys audition, or did Netflix reach out?
Nicky: They actually emailed (Jojo). After the email process, we wound up auditioning and doing a bunch of callbacks, and there were a lot of steps in the process of getting casted. But it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We’re glad we took it.
Why did you decide to catfish as Jojo’s girlfriend, Gianna, instead of playing yourselves?
Jojo: Because we could be a little over-the-top to certain people. The Circle is not necessarily just a New York show, so we could have been a little over-the-top in certain aspects of The Circle and the game itself. We thought that could have been a route we went, and I think we played it pretty good. It was a little tough at times, but we played it pretty good.
Nicky: We didn’t want to rub anybody the wrong way. With that strong New York personality, they might not take too kindly to that. If we catfish as a girl and someone who everyone can relate to, it’s a little more relatable. We also threw a little flavor in there in terms of our character, so we balanced it out.
What was the toughest part of playing a girl?
Nicky: Getting the skin care, the makeup routines, the hair routines and trying to actually type like a girl, having to do the extra letters, the extra exclamation points. I think we did a pretty good job of raising no red flags, especially in the beginning in terms of being a catfish. I think we did a pretty good job of staying under the radar.
You guys did a fantastic job. I don’t think one person ever said you were a catfish.
Jojo: Yeah, no, compared to Devin and Rachel, I know everybody was like, “Oh, you can tell.” I think learning the lingo was probably the (most difficult.) When you say “hey,” you can’t just say, “hey.” You need three “y’s” and an exclamation point. And the hashtags too. We were hashtagging way more than we usually do.
Did Gianna give you advice beforehand on how to text?
Jojo: Yeah, she definitely helped us out for a certain amount of time. And, yeah, just studying the messages I had with her. I was like, “This is going to make a lot of sense. We need to use this.”
Nicky: We had a notebook with 40 pages worth of stuff. We were prepared for any circumstance or any outcome, so we were ready to go.
Jojo: We didn’t even have to use half of it. We didn’t have to use the makeup routine. We had all sorts of sizes—pants, double zero. It works differently than guys. We’re like a 32 and she’s a double zero. I’m like, “What do you mean, double zero?”
That’s wild! What would you need a waist size for?
Jojo: You never know. We had everything. We were prepared.
Nicky: We were just hoping there wasn’t a challenge where we had to do some type of makeup on something because that was going to blow our cover. So thankfully, there wasn’t that type of challenge.
Have you watched previous seasons? What was your strategy going into it?
Nicky: We watched probably a season together. I watched half of the first season and then a little bit of the second and third. But I’m not like the other contestants. We went in there with strategy being an option but also taking the chips as they fall and being able to change up what we could do depending on what the person would give us in a private chat or a Circle Chat.
Throughout the game, you guys definitely had it out for Kevin, or as you referred to him as, “the perm.” What was it about Kevin that rubbed you guys the wrong way?
Nicky: It was the profile picture with the perm sitting on what looked like a frat boy. I’m like, “Ah, here’s a frat boy trying to sell us.”
Jojo: We kind of thought, especially from first glance: perm, frat boy, not our favorite type of candidate. But then we got into the Influencer Chat, and we saw he was trying to out-sell and manipulate us. Obviously, it’s a game, but we were like, “We’re not going to be outsold by a frat boy.” This isn’t going to happen. We worked on Wall Street. We cannot let this happen.
Nicky: Can’t have that.
Jojo: But ultimately, we actually wound up respecting his game tremendously because he played a great game. He made it to the end, backstabbing at times. There was so much disdain at a certain point.
Nicky: We only called him “the perm,” third person, for about nine episodes straight. We didn’t refer to him as Kevin.
Nicky: The greatest was getting the Goat game and being able to paint the picture of the perm. We were laughing so hard doing that. He was so upset too, because at the finale he told us, “I was wondering who said that because it’s not a perm. It’s my natural hair.”
Do you still think it’s a perm?
Jojo: Yeah, we still stand by that. He needs to prove it otherwise.
Madelyn faced some heat in the finale for her lies, like telling Heather she ranked her higher than she actually did, or telling Kevin that Darian had it out for him. What are your thoughts on how she played the game?
Nicky: She played a great game. She did what she had to do to get to the finale. However, that wouldn’t have been a game we were capable of doing because I really can’t lie like that. I understand she did what she had to do, but when it came out at the finale, you even see our reactions were genuinely shocked. She planted all these seeds that led to certain people getting blocked, that led to us thinking certain things. Even before we blocked Darian, Kevin said to us that Darian was trying to get us out of the game to try to throw one last domino. So we would side with him because he was going obviously for the lie that Madelyn started. It was a web of lies. She stirred the pot pretty much the whole time.
Jojo: Every time she would say something like that, we would be like, “Here she goes again.” We really didn’t pay her no mind, but we didn’t know she was lying to that extreme to the end. Then you see our faces when it cuts to, “I made that up.” Him and I (were) not surprised.
Nicky: It was nuts because especially in the Circle Chats, the whole group chat, she would say something to clear her name and let everybody duke it out and just sit back. So that’s what she would do, get everybody against each other.
Jojo: She didn’t like to answer straight-up questions either. She would always find a way to deflect them. I think she did a poor job in certain aspects of deflecting where she just wouldn’t answer. And you’d be like, “Why would she say that and not answer?”
Nicky: But for the most part, she played a good game. I’ve got to give it to her. She did what she had to do. She wasn’t afraid to do something that someone else wouldn’t do. She did what she had to do to get to the finale.
You weren’t surprised she was lying?
Jojo: After seeing it time and time again, we were like, “I guess it was a figment of our imagination.”
Nicky: We knew she had good alliances that would have rated her highly. But us personally, we didn’t really go against her because we knew she was kind of dangerous in a sense, where if she would have planted a seed in Kevin’s head, now the two or three of them could potentially get us out. So we just stayed even with her throughout the whole season.
Like you said, she played a good game, but clearly you two played a better game since you won! How did it feel in the finale? Were you shocked?
Nicky: Oh, my God. We were very, very shocked. It’s still pretty shocking. We’re still pitching ourselves to make it real. I don’t really have the words.
Jojo: I remember when they were doing the reveal, and Gianna’s face came up, it was just the longest. As they were filming it, we were just sitting there waiting like, “Is it us? Is it not us? Is it ‘the perm?’”
Nicky: Of course, it came down to us and “the perm.” Why wouldn’t it be?
Jojo: It was such an amazing feat. It’s still kind of surreal. It’s almost a month since the finale aired, but it’s still a surreal feeling. It’s crazy.
Which player that got blocked were you most excited to see?
Jojo: I was very excited to meet Darian, I’m not going to lie. I was excited to meet Garret as well.
Nicky: Jadejha, because I had a feeling that Darian, Jadejha and Garret weren’t catfishing. Everything kind of added up. I felt bad about blocking Darian and Garret, but they’re great guys at the end of the day. It was cool for the wrap party, we got to all hang out in the bnb in California. We all got to have a good time and stuff together. Great cast. Even Madelyn was there. The only one not there was “the perm” because “the perm” was in “Permany.” He was on vacation in Germany, but we call it “Permany” because “the perm.”
What was the first thing you did when you got your phones back?
Jojo: We were three weeks without them. We were so tired because we filmed the entire day up to the finale. Then we were up with the cast because we all had a dinner, and we were up hanging out until 4 am. We got our phones back, but we were so tired that we didn’t even look at them.
Nicky: We just charged them because we had an hour to sleep before getting on the bus to the airport. Then after that, the messages flooded. We were keeping up because we do Instagram and social media full time. So we had to go back on the apps, make sure everything was good and stuff. But it was nice. It was a point at ease not having your phone for a little bit. It was a little crazy, but it was kind of nice not being too reliant on it.
What did you guys do without your phones? How did you not get bored?
Nicky: Tried not to go crazy.
Jojo: A lot of push ups, a lot of reading. I read more than I’ve read in our entire lives in those three weeks. But then I remember the first thing I did after I got my phone, after we slept, I called Gianna. She’s like, “Did you win?” I tried playing it off like, “I don’t know, I don’t know.” She knew right away that we won. So it was insane. She told my parents and woke them up. It was crazy.
How do you plan on spending the prize money?
Nicky: As soon as we get it, we’ll start planning. First thing we’re going to do is go to our accountant, get the taxes taken out. Uncle Sam, you’re not getting this. You’re not touching us.
Jojo: They want their piece, so we’ve got to get ahead of that. But so many people have been asking us that question, “Are you going to go to Italy? Are you going to do this?” We’ve got to see. As soon as we get it, then maybe we can plan it a little bit better.
Nicky: A trip to Italy with the family sounds really nice, to see the motherland for the first time.
Have you ever been to Italy?
Nicky: I’ve never been to Italy, Europe, nothing like that. And we just did Ancestry.com, so we’re finding out where in Italy our family’s from. It might be cool to see some towns that maybe we have cousins in, maybe our third or fourth cousins.
Jojo: We’ve got to learn how to speak it first.
Nicky: Rosetta Stone, you know.
Do you speak any Italian?
Nicky: No. We speak Staten Island.
Jojo: Very weird dialect.
If there was a Circle All Stars season, would you guys play again?
Jojo: Oh, absolutely. If they make a phone call.
Nicky: If they make the call like, “Listen, all star season. You up for it?” Absolutely. When’s my flight? When are we filming? Let’s call it.
Who else would you want to be on that season?
Nicky: Joey Sasso.
Jojo: Joey, Schuby…James was fantastic.
Nicky: Maybe Brandon?
Jojo: Brandon was really good. There’s so many good contestants, you can really make the case for anybody.
Nicky: I would like to kind of see “the perm” back.
Jojo: “The perm,” yeah. Round four or five.
Nicky: Just because us and “the perm” have that competitive edge. Even though he didn’t win, he played a great game. So to just have “the perm” in there, you never know with “the perm.”
Jojo: What about us and “the perm” as one? Catfishing as “the perm?”
What other reality competition shows would you like to be on?
Nicky: I think we’d be a great asset to any type of reality show that wants to cast us in the future. I also think a Scarlotta family series…it’s what the people want. Let’s call it what it is.
Jojo: If it’s reality TV, any type of TV. I always humbly say that I think we’re built for it. So any opportunity that we think might fit, we’ll take it seriously and give it a shot.
Nicky: We want to give TV gold. That’s our mission at the end of the day.
Halloween is coming up. What Halloween movies are you streaming?
Nicky: Hocus Pocus. Halloween staple every year. I want to go, I’ve never been to Salem yet. (Jojo) went for a day or two. I want to go to Salem and just see the house and experience the town one day.
Jojo: Halloween’s literally tomorrow. We’ve got to watch some movies tonight. A lot of Halloween movies are scary today. The Shining. Can you really consider that a Halloween (movie)? It’s horror.
Nicky: Hubie Halloween. It’s on Netflix. That’s hysterical, with the soup container. Kevin James as the cop with the mullet? Phenomenal.
Jojo: What else are we missing?
Nicky: Scream’s a staple. Halloween. Michael Myers. Even though they made 15 of them, the original one’s fantastic.
Jojo: Jeepers Creepers. Halloweentown—that’s iconic. That’s one of the best.
Nicky: Nickelodeon and Disney don’t make movies like they used to 20 years ago, the Halloween movies, the Christmas movies, everything.
Jojo: Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out?
Did you guys see Wizards Beyond Waverly Place came out? Selena Gomez and David Henrie are back.
Nicky: As Justin? Holy crap, I’ve got to watch it.
Jojo: What’s it on, Peacock?
It’s on Disney!
Jojo: You never know with streaming platforms today. Wow, I’ve got to watch that.
Nicky: That was one of the best shows growing up. I think they released the original seasons around Halloween because of the whole wizard thing, so it makes sense that they’re releasing it around Halloween. Great show. I’ve got to watch it now. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie was amazing too when they were on that vacation, and she had to go on the mountain or something with the wand.
Any other Netflix shows or movies you’re streaming right now?
Jojo: I was watching Monsters, the documentary, which was crazy. I’m watching Peaky Blinders again for the eighth time. There’s always a new show to watch and binge on Netflix.
Nicky: A staple that I watch all the time is Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul. Breaking Bad is our favorite show ever. That, The Sopranos. Game of Thrones would be top three if it wasn’t for the catastrophic eighth season that they could have done a little bit better. But I’ll just rewatch Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul whenever. I’m on Netflix a lot, actually. When we got a break for one day when we were filming The Circle, they allowed us one day to not film and just have the Netflix TV to kick back and relax. We watched almost a whole season of Better Call Saul that day. It was nice to have. We needed a little break for the day.
