Caleb Williams has shared his side of the story after he was catfished in a now-viral video by someone claiming to be Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson.
The incident, which happened late last week, started when Williams received a text message. He later FaceTimed the number and the person on the other end recorded the exchange that later went viral.
“Hey Caleb, this is Ben Johnson,” the text began. “Just wanted to reach out ahead of time before it gets released to the media, I will be taking the HC job. Very excited to work with you in the future.Great things.”
Williams replied questioning if the sender was actually Johnson.
“Yes. I wanted you to be the first to know. We will talk more as the season winds down,” the sender replied.
Williams then replies excitedly saying, “let’s get this s— going and turn it around and do what hasn’t been done in years!”
The exchange went viral and the Bears quarterback finally addressed it this week on an episode of the St. Brown podcast with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Equanimeous St. Brown.
“The text was so, like, official,” Williams said on the episode, saying it resembled messages he received from coaches during his college years. “It looked mad professional.”
Beyond the text, the sender’s FaceTime with Williams was also recorded.
In the video, a young man is seen answering a call before Williams appears on screen.
“You’re a great QB,” the prankster said. “I’m so glad you’re going to get a new head coach. I don’t know if it’s Ben Johnson.”
Williams responds by saying, “All good” and telling the caller “peace out.”
“I was trying not to flip out, because I knew they were probably recording, so I was trying to keep my cool, but when I got off the phone I was fuming,” Williams said on the podcast.
Still, he gave the prankster props for the stunt.
“I ain’t gonna lie, it was a classic prank. It was a grade-A, S-tier prank,” Williams said, noting that he has since got a new number.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, who plays for the Lions, apologized to Williams on the podcast for the role he played in the viral exchange.
Williams said he had texted Amon-Ra shortly before making the phone call, asking for Johnson’s number to check it against the message he received.
“I wasn’t gonna save his number, ‘cause he’s not our coach,” Williams said, adding that, “Amon-Ra does Amon-Ra things, and doesn’t text back.”
When Williams didn’t hear back, he decided to make the now-viral call.
Amon-Ra said he was eating dinner and by the time he checked his phone, Williams had already made the call. An hour later, it was on social media.
When asked if he actually thought the message came from Johnson while his team was still in the playoffs, Williams said he was confused thinking Johnson’s interview had already happened, but it was actually happening the next day.
