A man has recalled the incredible story of how he called his parents to find out they thought he had been dead for six months.
Callum called ZM Radio in New Zealand to relay the stunning story, and the station posted the conversation on TikTok, in a clamp which has since amassed 1.2 million views.
In the video, Callum told presenters Hayley Sproull, Carl Fletcher and Vaughan Smith that he was living in Wellington at the time, 430 kilometers away from his parents’ home in Christchurch.
He said his sisters did not get along with his parents at the time, and out of spite, his older sister “called my parents and told them I had died.”
According to Callum, she told him that he had been the victim of a stabbing that had been in the news and that his funeral had already taken place, but his ex-girlfriend’s family did not want them there.
Meanwhile, Callum was ‘busy with work and life’ and didn’t get around to calling his parents, but after six months of not speaking to them he called – only to find out they thought he was dead .
Callum called ZM Radio in New Zealand to relay the stunning story, who then posted the conversation to their TikTok, @fvhzm, in a clip that has since been viewed 1.2 million times
“My sisters had a bit of a fight with my parents at the time and they didn’t really get along,” he said. “My older sister called my parents and told them I had died,” Callum told the presenters.
“When I have an argument with my parents, I don’t tell them that one of my siblings is dead,” said a stunned Vaughan.
Callum went on to reveal the incredible story, saying: ‘My sisters told them I had already had the funeral and my ex-girlfriend’s parents didn’t want them there.’
He claimed his father was ‘stunned’ and his mother was ‘in absolute tears’ after his sister told them he had been killed in a stabbing in nearby Porirua that had been in the news.
Both Vaughan and Hayley screamed “What?!” in disbelief – before Carl admitted: ‘I’m going to say this in the nicest way possible Callum, but your sister sounds like a crazy b***h’, to which the caller joker replied: ‘She sure is mate’.
Vaughan continued: ‘Your sister sounds like a red flag you crazy b***h of the highest order’ before asking Callum why he didn’t go home and show his face to his devastated parents who thought they would never see each other their beloved son again someday.
The caller then claimed that his parents were “running around calling all our other relatives” to see if they had heard anything.
No one from the extended family could shed any light on the matter, and his parents assumed he was dead.
Callum explained why they accepted the news so easily, saying: ‘At that point it wouldn’t have been unusual for me to be stabbed.’
However, he emphasized that he has never had ties to gangs.
While everyone mourned his death, Callum claimed he was simply too ‘busy with work and life’ to call his parents, but after a while he wondered why they hadn’t called him in a while either.
Vaughan continued: ‘Your sister sounds like a red flag, a crazy b***h of the highest order’ before asking Callum why he didn’t go home and show his face to his gutted parents who thought they would never see each other meet their beloved son again someday
Wanting to get to the bottom of it, he finally called them six months later and the astonished parents simply said, “Are you still alive?” – and this is the moment Callum knew his sisters had betrayed him.
They were ‘over the moon’ and he went to them that weekend to reassure them that he was definitely alive.
Hayley joked: “You should tell your parents your sister has died.”
Since the scandalous lie, Callum claimed his parents and sisters could no longer talk to each other.
Vaughan claimed that Callum’s story was ‘the wildest phone call’ he had ever received in his 20 years of doing the show and that he was subsequently given a present. Caller of the Week voucher, $50 to spend on McCafe.
However, the story took yet another twist when a TikTok user claimed to be the caller’s sister, saying: ‘As Callum’s sister, I can confirm that I never told my parents he was dead.’
A mysterious TikTok account claimed to be Callum’s sister, who was described by Kiwi radio presenters as ‘a top tier, red flag, crazy b***h’, but she denied this had happened and called her family ‘f* ***d’. ‘
How do you know it was your Callum?’ someone asked, to which she explained that she recognized his voice.
Giving her side, she said no one, including her sister, partner or parents, had heard of him after the Porirua stabbing.
She claimed she then contacted him to check on him and it turned out he was still alive, so she was “lucky.”
She didn’t seem shocked that her family allegedly lied about the incident and called them ‘f****d’.
“I guess it’s another tall tale that my father came up with,” she said, adding that she is “avoiding” her family these days.