Punk'd
Punk'd is an
American hidden camera practical joke television series on
MTV, produced and hosted by
Ashton Kutcher, which first aired in 2003. It bears a strong resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show
Candid Camera, and to
TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, which also featured pranks on
celebrities. "Punk'd" refers to the act of having such a prank played on oneself, and the word also refers to the show's style of prank itself.
Candid Camera format
The show begins with a description by Kutcher of which celebrity will be punk'd, what the celebrity's claim to fame is or the celebrity has done something bad (ex:
Terrell Owens), why he feels the celebrity deserves to be punk'd, and what the setting of the joke will be, including the accomplices and the premise. As the show is usually set in
Los Angeles, the pranks often take place in common locations such as
parking lots,
restaurants, hotel rooms, residences,
Universal Studios Hollywood, a school or a
bowling alley. Occasionally, Kutcher will engineer the prank at a celebrity event at which the target is a prominent guest, such as barring
Halle Berry entry to the premiere of her film,
Gothika, or when he pranked
Philadelphia 76ers' Guard
Allen Iverson by convincing him that he could not enter his own 30th birthday party because the
President's daughters and
Secret Service men were inside. Kutcher will also sometimes use real-life current events as elements in his pranks, as when he pranked tennis player
Andy Roddick, who was scheduled to appear on
The Tonight Show, by convincing him that his automobile was trapped by the 2004-2005 Los Angeles
mudslides. Kutcher sometimes sets his pranks on the sets of movies, TV shows or
music videos where his targets are working, as when he pranked
Kanye West by convincing him that he could not shoot any footage for his music video for the song
Jesus Walks on Sundays without a permit, or when he pranked
The Game by convincing him that he could not leave
his studio because his crew had repaved its entrance. Kutcher has also done holiday-themed pranks, as when he pranked
Beyoncé Knowles into thinking she knocked over a 50 foot Christmas Tree, or when he pranked
Fall Out Boy's
Peter Wentz into thinking he derailed a train at a Christmas festival. After the joke progresses to a point, usually with the celebrity having become angry or frustrated at the outrageousness of the situation, Kutcher or one of the actors will announce to the surprised victim that they just had a practical joke played on them (usually with the line, "You just got Punk'd!"). The celebrity typically unleashed a barrage of profanity which is
bleeped by MTV. An episode will usually feature three pranks.
Road Trips
In Season 3, Ashton Kutcher and his crew went to the
Smithsonian Museum in
Washington DC, at an event tied to the release of the film
The Prince and Me, and pranked actress
Julia Stiles.
In a road trip to
Tony Hawk's hometown
Carlsbad, California in Season 5, Hawk was pranked by his son Riley, who destroyed a park restroom with an
M-80, injuring a bystander played by an actress.
In Season 6, Kutcher sent crew members to
Moorestown, New Jersey, the town of residence of football player
Terrell Owens, in order to prank him there. The crew staged an auto accident in which Owens, believing it to be real, attempted to assist elderly people from an overturned bus. [
1].
Ryan Pinkston Format
A frequent segment during the first season had the then fifteen-year-old
Ryan Pinkston pretending to interview celebrities at red carpet events for a kids' show, only to mock them instead [
2].
Stars interviewed by Pinkston
*
Kid Rock*
Pamela Anderson*
Ray Liotta*
Christina Aguilera*
Denise Richards*
Tori Amos*
Christina Applegate*
Eddie Griffin*
Pierce Brosnan*
Dominic Monaghan and
Billy Boyd*
Lacey Chabert*
Pauly Shore* In the season 1 finale, producer Jason Goldberg tried to prank Ashton, with
Britney Spears being an accomplice. However, Ashton knew about the prank and got Britney on his side to turn the tables and prank Jason. Also, Spears tried to punk
Busta Rhymes in
New York City but Kutcher told her to not punk Rhymes.
[Complete video.]* In December 2003, Kutcher attempted to "punk" WWE wrestler
Bill Goldberg by having a truck run over an exact replica of his prized motorcycle, but the stunt went wrong when the truck clearly missed the bike. Goldberg quickly realized what was going on, and asked "Who do I have to kill?". Kutcher then revealed himself, as the joke had failed.
* In June 2005, Kutcher failed to punk self-proclaimed "King of
Crunk"
Lil Jon. He was boarding a plane headed for
Las Vegas, but Kutcher had actors playing customs agents tell him that he was actually headed for
Ecuador. Lil Jon quickly identified members of the "customs agents" from previous episodes of the program, and asked for Kutcher to reveal himself.
* According to Kutcher himself, he failed to punk
Neve Campbell twice until he finally succeeded on his third try in season 6.
* According to
Nick Cannon in the
March 3,
2006 People magazine, Ashton grew frustrated because he failed to fool Cannon about 4 times, with his last attempt involving a man pretending to be trapped in a gas station. Cannon saw through the joke because he noticed the cameras and was not convinced by the actor's performance.
* According to Kutcher himself he also tried to punk
Mila Kunis, but he failed. The second time he managed it.
*In late 2003, it had been announced by MTV that Kutcher had decided not to continue production on
Punk'd. Some commentators speculated that the announcement was a ploy designed to lower the guard of increasingly wary celebrities in an attempt at another season of pranks. This proved to be true when the third season began airing on
April 25 2004. The television audience itself had been "punk'd".
Alias star
Michael Vartan reportedly refused to sign the release after being pranked by Kutcher, preventing the prank from airing. However, Vartan denies ever being pranked. [
3][
4]
American Pie star
Shannon Elizabeth filed divorce from her husband
Joe Reitman, after she was furious with her husband for joining the prank based on the most popular
Paris Hilton's
sex tape. [
5]
*
Pamela Anderson also denies ever being pranked. [
6]
*
New York Yankees third-baseman/
2005 American League MVP Alex Rodriguez refused to sign the release after his prank and asked Kutcher to destroy the tape. "It was a good idea. It was just bad timing," Rodriguez said. [
7]
*During his interview of Kutcher for
Interview, actor
Brad Pitt advised Kutcher to not prank his
Ocean's Eleven/
Twelve co-star
George Clooney, a notorious prankster himself. Pitt told Kutcher, "Don't do it. Don't ever go near it. Clooney will kill you and everything you love. I know it's tempting, but don't do it." [
8]
*Talk show host
Ellen DeGeneres has stated that she does not wish to be Punk'd, and is so paranoid that she often assumes she is being Punk'd whenever any suspicious or out of the ordinary mishap occurs, as when, for example, a valet gives her the wrong car when leaving a restaurant, which Kutcher's crew members did to
Simon Cowell during the Season 5 Premiere. [
9]
*
Dave Chappelle performed a piece on
Def Poetry Jam entitled "Fuck Ashton Kutcher" which alleges that the pranks on
African American celebrities usually involve the police.
In addition to the obvious influences of past hidden camera prank shows such as
Candid Camera and
TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes,
Method Man,
Redman and
Matt Besser of the
Upright Citizens Brigade had a hidden camera celebrity prank show on MTV called
Stung in 2002, a full year before the introduction of
Punk'd.Whether this was a direct influence on
Punk'd is unclear. On Hip Hop DVD magazine
S.M.A.C.K. DVD Vol. 9, when the interviewer asks about the similarities between
Stung and Punk'd,
Redman replies "Fuck you, Ashton Kutcher," while the whole crowd behind him laughs and repeats after him.
MTV Shows derivated from Punk'd
* Singers
Michelle Branch,
Nick Lachey (
Punk'd victim from Season 1 Episode 6), and
JC Chasez created another prank show called
Faking the Video during the 11 month
Punk'd exile. [
10]
*
Ryan Dunn created another prankshow called
Homewrecker which the show mixes with
Punk'd and
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
Parodies
*
Justin Timberlake, who was the first punk'd victim in the show's premiere, spoofed Kutcher and
Punk'd when he hosted
Saturday Night Live.
* During the 2003-04
National Hockey League season, the
Los Angeles Kings broadcast on
Fox Sports West produced a handful of segments called
Puck'd featuring practical jokes on various Kings players. The segments were created for pre-game and between-period entertainment.
Luc Robitaille, who was retired from the NHL after the 2005-06 season, played the role of
Ashton Kutcher.
Puck'd made a return in the 2005-06 season.
*
Stephen Colbert parodied the show in his well-known segment on
The Daily Show,
This Week In God, introducing a new fake program called
Baptiz'd.
* In the television comedy
Will and Grace,
Jack McFarland, an executive of a gay television network, invents Pink'd, the gay equivalent of Punk'd. The first person to be "pink'd" is title character
Will Truman.
* In an episode of
MADtv,
Kenny Rogers (played by
Will Sasso) did his own version of
Punk'd. The jokes ended with
Clay Aiken (played by an actor) getting
kicked in the crotch.
* In the
Family Guy episode "
I Take Thee Quagmire", Peter remembers the time he pranked
Ashton Kutcher by throwing an axe at him and saying, "You've just been Tomahawk'd! That's my show, Tomahawk'd."
*
High School Musical refers to Punk'd in one scene with
Ashley Tisdale.
* Kutcher and
Punk'd are spoofed in
The Even Stevens Movie in which two fictional prank shows called
Family Fakeout and
Gotcha! appear.
* In May,
2006,
O.J. Simpson released a candid camera show for
pay-per-view and
DVD called
Juiced. One of the pranks showed Simpson trying to sell a white
Ford Bronco like the one he made famous in the
slow speed chase in
1994.[
11]
Main Articles:**
List of celebrities who have been Punk'd on Seasons 1 to 5**
List of celebrities who have been Punk'd on Season 6 to PresentMost of the sources are from all episodes of
Punk'd.
*
Sharon Osbourne (Pranked her daughter
Kelly in season 1 episode 4.)
*
Jessica Simpson (Pranked her then-husband
Nick Lachey in Season 1 Episode 6.)
*
Britney Spears (Pranked
Jason Goldberg, the producer of
Punk'd in season 1 finale.)
*
Shanna Moakler (Pranked her husband
Travis Barker of
Blink 182 in Season 2 Episode 6.)
*
F. Gary Gray (Pranked his
Be Cool co-star
The Rock in Season 3 Episode 3.)
*
Amy Davidson (Pranked her then-
8 Simple Rules co-star
Kaley Cuoco in Season 3 Episode 3.)
*
Patrick Fugit (Pranked his
Saved! co-star
Jena Malone in Season 3 Episode 7.)
*
Rhymefest1 and
Chris Milk (Pranked singer
Kanye West in Season 3 finale.)
*
Penélope Cruz (Pranked her
Gothika co-star
Halle Berry in Season 2 Episode 5; pranked her friend/
Bandidas co-star
Salma Hayek in the Season 4 premiere.)
*
Donald Faison (Pranked his
Scrubs co-star
Zach Braff in Season 4 Episode 3.)
*
Michael Finley (Pranked his then-
Dallas Mavericks teammate
Dirk Nowitzki in Season 4 Episode 4.)
*
Dan Heder (Pranked his brother,
Jon in Season 4 Episode 6.)
*
Stephan Jenkins (Pranked his girlfriend
Vanessa Carlton in Season 4 Episode 7.)
*
Adam Goldstein (Pranked his then-fiancee,
Nicole Richie in Season 4 Episode 7.)
*
Proof (10/2/1973 â€" 4/11/2006) (Pranked his
D12 bandmate
Bizarre in Season 4 finale.)
*
Randy Jackson and
Ryan Seacrest (Pranked their fellow
American Idol judge
Simon Cowell in the Season 5 premiere.)
*
Todd Bridges and
Richard Rubin (Pranked
Indiana Pacers Forward-Center
Jermaine O'Neal in Season 5 Episode 2.)
*
Funkmaster Flex (Pranked
Adrien Brody in Season 5 Episode 5.)
*
Jerry Buss (Pranked
Los Angeles Sparks player
Lisa Leslie in Season 5 Episode 6.)
*
Joe Simpson (Pranked
Ryan Cabrera in Season 5 Episode 7.)
*
Stephanie McMahon-Levesque2 (Pranked her husband and
WWE wrestler
Triple H in Season 5 finale.)
*
Jaime Bergman (Pranked her husband
David Boreanaz in Season 6 Episode 3.)
*
Andy Hurley,
Patrick Stump, and
Joe Trohman (Pranked their
Fall Out Boy band mate
Peter Wentz in Season 6 finale.)
*
Marisol Maldonado (Pranked her husband
Rob Thomas in the season 7 premiere.)
*
Michael Sheen (Pranked his ex-girlfriend
Kate Beckinsale in the season 7 premiere.)
*
Dan Estrin,
Josh Moreau, and
Chris Hesse (Pranked their
Hoobastank bandmate
Doug Robb in season 7 episode 2.)
*
Juicy J,
Lord Infamous, and
Crunchy Black (Pranked fellow
Three 6 Mafia member
DJ Paul in season 7 episode 3.)
*
Geoff Stults (Pranked his girlfriend
Stacy Keibler in season 7 Episode 3.)
*
Jason Truby,
Wuv Bernardo, and
Traa Daniels (Pranked their
P.O.D. bandmate
Sonny Sandoval in season 7 episode 4.)
*
Michael Bolton (Pranked his future wife
Nicolette Sheridan in season 7 episode 6.)
*
Teddy Geiger (Pranked his friend
Emma Roberts in season 7 episode 7.)
*
Brett Ratner (Pranked his
X3 castmember
Hugh Jackman in season 7 finale.)
*
Joe Guese,
Joey Zehr,
Ethan Mentzer,
Ben Romans (Pranked their
The Click Five bandmate
Eric Dill in season 7 finale.)
NOTES: 1. Kutcher did not introduced him as an accomplice until Fest was at the scene to give his input as he co-wrote the song
Jesus Walks 2. Her name is misspelled as "Stephani".
*The first victim:
Justin Timberlake*The first substitute:
Justin Timberlake*The first victim to appear on the show more than twice:
Justin Timberlake*The first star to appear on the show more than twice:
Justin Timberlake*The first foreign born celebrity to get
Punk'd:
Kelly Osbourne (
United Kingdom)
*The first
reality TV star to get
Punk'd:
Kelly Osbourne*The first groups of people who were victims of the same prank at the different time but aired at the same time:
Kevin Richardson and
Trishelle Cannatella*The first victim to get
Punk'd more than twice in a same episode:
Nick Carter*The first celebrity to volunteer the show:
Britney Spears*The first
NFL player(s) to get
Punk'd:
Jerome Bettis (now retired),
Jeff Garcia of the
Philadelphia Eagles, and
Rod Smith of the
Denver Broncos*The first
Academy Award winner to get
Punk'd:
Halle Berry (2002 Winner for Best Actress for her role in
Monster's Ball)
*The first
X-Games star to get
Punk'd:
Dave Mirra*The first victim who failed to get
Punk'd:
Goldberg*The first
NBA player(s) to get
Punk'd:
Carmelo Anthony of the
Denver Nuggets*The first groups of people who were victims of the same prank at the same time:
Carmen Electra and
Dave Navarro*The first supermodel to get
Punk'd:
Tyra Banks*The first
MLB player(s) to get
Punk'd:
Alex Rodriguez of the
New York Yankees*The first victim to deny their broadcasting rights:
Alex Rodriguez*The first non-victim to appear on the show more than twice:
Penélope Cruz*The first
WWE Wrestler to get
Punk'd:
The Rock1*The first
WNBA player(s) to get
Punk'd:
Lisa Leslie of the
Los Angeles Sparks*The first groups of people who were victims of the same prank at the different time but from the same segment:
Allen Iverson and
Jermaine O'Neal*The first victim pranked by the real authorities:
Bam Margera by the real
LAPD SWAT Team
*The first
Playboy Playmate to get
Punk'd:
Kelly Monaco (Miss April 1997)
*The first
Olympic Gold Medalist to get
Punk'd:
Shaun White*The first victim after the show moved from Sundays to Mondays:
Rob Thomas*The first
NCAA Football player to get
Punk'd:
Matt Leinart of the
USC Trojans, now with the
Arizona CardinalsNOTES: 1. Goldberg was supposed to become the first WWE wrestler to get
punk'd but Kutcher messed the prank up. Instead, The Rock is now the first WWE wrestler to get
punk'd.
| Name of Prankee | Intended Season:!Notes |
|---|
| Al Shearer | 1 | The prank was never seen on MTV but was released on The Complete First Season: DVD |
| Alex Rodriguez | 3 | First celebrity to deny Punk'd broadcasting rights, although he was amused by the show's concept. [12][13] |
| Black Eyed Peas | 3 | Claimed in an interview that they were pranked. They noticed the 'cops' apparently featured in the prank weren't real and got into a fight because they suspected the fake police not of being Punk'd staff, but criminals. [14][15] |
| JoJo | 4 | Denied Punk'd broadcasting rights. JoJo did not sign the release form to air her episode because she didn't want her young fans to see her swearing. |
| Juliette Lewis | 4 | MTV forgot to air her on Season 4. |
| Michael Vartan | 4 | Denied Punk'd broadcasting rights. Vartan's lawyers threatened to file suit against Kutcher if the prank was aired, but Vartan denies being punk'd. [16][17] |
| Pamela Anderson | ? | Denied Punk'd broadcasting rights (see above) |
*The most victims from outside North America (not including Puerto Rico):
United Kingdom with 7 victims - all from
England.
*Most
Punk'd:
Jermaine O'Neal of the
Indiana Pacers and
The Click Five's
Eric Dill, tied with 4 people each.
*Youngest
Punk'd victim:
Emma Roberts (15 years, 3 months, 5 days old when the episode first aired).
*Oldest
Punk'd victim:
Sugar Ray Leonard (49 years, 11 months, 28 days old when the episode first aired).
*Total numbers of victims from outside North America (not including Puerto Rico): 17 (4 are naturalized).
*Most victims from a TV show:
The O.C. (
Adam Brody,
Rachel Bilson,
Ben McKenzie,
Mischa Barton, and
Olivia Wilde).
*Most victims from a U.S. State: California (34 victims).
*Most victims from a Canadian Province: Ontario (
Avril Lavigne,
Matthew Perry (raised in
Ottawa), and
Neve Campbell).
*Most victims from a
Major professional sports league in
North America: the
NBA and the
NFL, tied with 5 victims each.
*The number of victims played the role of Ashton Kutcher in future episodes: 2 (
Justin Timberlake in Season 1 Episode 4,
Jesse McCartney in Season 5 Episode 6)
*
Punk'd website on mtv.com
*
