‘Claim to Fame’ Winner Reveals How They Plan on Using Prize Money to Give Back to Their Community (Exclusive)

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Claim to Fame season 2 finale.

The winner of Claim to Fame season 2 has been revealed!

During the second half of the two-hour finale on Monday, Chris, Monay and Gabriel faced off as they competed for the $100,000 grand prize.

After winning the final challenge earlier in the episode, Gabriel was given the upper hand going into the Guess Off as he was able to pick the bottom two before making himself the guesser for the final round. 

In the end, Gabriel was crowned the winner as he correctly guessed Monay’s celebrity relative as J.B. Smoove. Meanwhile, Gabriel was revealed to be Nick Cannon’s younger brother.

ABC/John Fleenor

Throughout the season, Gabriel has masked his identity by pretending to be related to an athlete, which he tells PEOPLE was a specific strategy he had in mind from the very beginning. 

“I knew eventually going in that the cover would be blown, but my plan going in was to hide under the athlete thing for as long as I could,” he says. “I definitely went in with that strategy to try to stay knowing my stature, knowing that if I could keep you there, there’s no way you think Nick Cannon.” 

He adds that the strategy stemmed from real-life experiences he dealt with where people would call out differences between him and his brother Nick, 42.

“Throughout my life, [I’ve] had to put on traits and I used to call it a mask to wear. It’s like, ‘Well, he’s funny like him, [but he doesn’t] look like him.’ That was something that I would deal with in life.”

Shahar Azran/Getty Images; ABC/Gizelle Hernandez

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Eventually, his cover was blown when his clue card teased that his celebrity relative was a father of more than 10 babies. 

“You kind of know what’s coming for you but to connect them and make it definite, all you could do is laugh,” Gabriel says of the clue.

“That’s a good thing to be known for in this life and in this world,” he adds of Nick’s big family. “If you want to be known for something, it’s like a big family, a loving father, a man of the people. Shout out to Nick, man.”

ABC/John Fleenor

On his brother’s reaction to him doing the show, Gabriel admits Nick was a “little hesitant” at first but eventually warmed up to the idea after seeing the format of the show. 

“He [knows] me. I can’t shut my mouth. It’s like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I want them to know I got a little brother.’ But I think he’s seen the show and he’s seen the format, what they [were] presenting, I think he felt a lot better. I could tell a change in his energy and he just gave me his blessing.”

“His thing was like, ‘Man, you’ve been prepared for it, you’ve done it,’” Gabriel continues, noting his career as a rapper. “I’ve toured with his ex-wife [Mariah Carey] — she’s still my sister-in-law — I’ve been on tour with her and been signed to Def Jam and in the past and [he] was like, ‘Man, you ready. Don’t make me look crazy.’” 

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He adds that one of the most rewarding aspects of the show has been stepping into his own “claim to fame” after watching Nick chase his dreams when they were younger. 

“The best part of being on the show is giving glory to God. For me personally, it’s like, ‘I haven’t forgot about you,’” he adds. “You have these dreams and you see your relative, y’all saw my brother make it and become famous and you think [you’re] next in this line. Then [at] times you feel like you’ve been skipped in this line. At times you feel like, ‘Man, OK, I know I got gifts and talents, but if I have to surrender it, I’m willing to do that.’”

“For me, it’s a confirmation to keep pushing, to never say quit, to never say die, to never let these dreams and ideas [go],” he continues. “It wasn’t a long plan. It ain’t like we plotted with ABC and we knew this last year. It’s like, no, I got a phone call and my situation changed. That’s my message: be ready because a change will come.” 

ABC/John Fleenor

With that same message in mind, Gabriel reveals that he plans on using his prize money to give back to his community with a center for young people. 

“Some type of community center for youth services, whether it’s anger management, whether it’s teaching them business management and development,” he shares. “We definitely want to reach back, build a bridge. Just want to do the same thing that ABC and Claim to Fame have done for me and shed light on other people.”

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Claim to Fame season 2 can be streamed in full on Hulu.

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Source: HIS Education