After fooling everyone on Claim to Fame, Chris’ celebrity relative was finally unveiled during the season 2 finale.
During the second half of the two-hour finale on Monday, the competition came down to Chris, Monay and Gabriel for the final Guess Off, with Chris ultimately coming in third place as Monay correctly guessed that his celebrity relative is his father Donny Osmond.
Throughout the season, Chris has been the topic of discussion as contestants have continuously guessed his celebrity relative wrong, linking him to everyone from Elvis Presley to Elton John. While Chris’ costars had a hard time nailing his identity, the answer has been incredibly clear to fans watching at home — especially moms who grew up in the ‘70s.
Chris jokes that his dad has been getting a big kick out of all the wrong guesses.
“Honestly, he’s been laughing his head off,” he says of Donny, 65. “We talk on the daily and he’s been a good support, but he also has been laughing through it.”
“I think we both realized that he has such a strong following from the ’70s, all of these moms,” he adds of the generational gap. “I am definitely the chatter in social media and Reddit. All these millennials and Gen-Z’ers are like, ‘Yeah, I had no idea until my mom told me that it was [Donny Osmond], and now it’s really apparent.’ So it’s a fun realization, but he’s had a blast watching it.”
While his dad has been super supportive of his time on Claim to Fame, Chris notes that one of the most rewarding parts of doing the show has been forging his own identity as an artist.
“Growing up and being part of an entertainment family, not just an individual, there’s a lot of pressure to that,” he says of living up to the Osmond name. “Even with my dad. He’s a very strong performer. He’s got an amazing voice and is a perfectionist, and I’m a perfectionist too, so I think that kind of got to me over the years of like, ‘Oh, I need to measure up to this guy.’ But doing this show made me realize, ‘Hey, I can be my own person. I’m Chris. Yes, I’m part of the Osmond family, but I have my own talent.’”
“That’s why I did this show in the first place,” he adds. “To have an experience on television in front of millions of people, which is daunting. It was a little scary for the first week or so, and then we kind of got into our rhythm and I realized in the moment I’m like, ‘I can do this. This is fun.’”
Having been on a handful of reality shows himself, such as Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer, Donny gave his son some valuable advice when he first signed on for the show.
“Because this show has been so popular and a massive success, he’s always warned me that whatever you do say on television or to the public, it’s printed. So just be yourself and be true to yourself and know what you’re doing when you’re going into these kinds of things,” Chris recalls of his father’s advice. “That’s probably been a huge influence to me on how he conducts his life. My dad’s more of a guy that’s like show, don’t tell. And I watch him and see how he’s performed with an elegance and he holds himself very honorably.”
After growing up in the limelight with his dad, Chris adds that the most rewarding part of doing Claim to Fame has been meeting other people with similar backgrounds and experiences.
“I don’t feel like I’ve gotten that a lot growing up, because my friend group, they’re just normal friends with parents that have normal jobs,” he notes. “My mom was really good at making sure we had a normal upbringing.”
“So this show, I was able to meet 11 other people that kind of live behind the scenes of somebody else’s success,” he continues. “To see what kind of struggles they go through, but also opportunities and fun experiences [they’ve had], I’ve gained a lot of insight in that regard. I love staying in contact with everybody from the show. And I know that we will stay in contact indefinitely.”
Claim to Fame season 2 can be streamed in full on Hulu.
