Punk'd
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Punk'd is an American television show on MTV centered around the old Candid Camera idea of hidden cameras. Its main twist is to pull pranks on popular young celebrities, making them look ridiculous in the process. It is hosted by Ashton Kutcher. Punk'd first aired in 2003.
One of the best-known pranks involved reducing Justin Timberlake to tears. Kutcher and his team convinced Timberlake that the IRS was seizing his property and boarding up the doors and windows of his home for not paying his taxes. Another one of its segments has 15-year old Ryan Pinkston pretending to interview celebrities for a kids show, but has him mock them instead.
The show has spawned the catchphrase "You just got punk'd." Chris Rock parodied this in the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards:
- "DMX, you've been punk'd."
- "Oh yeah? You've been stabbed."
In late 2003, it was announced by MTV that Kutcher had decided not to host Punk'd anymore. 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 was proven to be true when the third season began airing on April 25, 2004. The television audience itself had been punk'd.
As of the 2005 season, a total of six foreign stars, counting Pamela Anderson and Matthew Perry, although they have both Canadian and American citizenships, have been punk'd. Ozzy Osbourne's daughter Kelly, British singer Joss Stone, Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki, and Mexican actress Salma Hayek have also been punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's crew members. (But for Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry, they were punk'd by Ashton Kutcher.)
In June 2005, Ashton Kutcher failed to "punk" self-proclaimed King of Crunk Lil Jon. He was boarding a plane headed for Las Vegas, but Kutcher used actors to play as customs agents to tell him that he was actually headed for Ecuador. The King of Crunk managed to recognize members of the "customs agents" from other episodes of the show, and yelled for Kutcher to reveal himself.
Celebrities who have been "punk'd"
- Jessica Alba
- Pamela Anderson
- Carmelo Anthony
- Ashanti
- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
- Tyra Banks
- Halle Berry
- Rachel Bilson
- Bizarre
- Bow Wow
- Lara Flynn Boyle
- Zach Braff
- Brandy
- Adam Brody
- Vanessa Carlton
- Nick Carter
- Chingy
- Ciara
- Rachael Leigh Cook
- Kaley Cuoco
- Rosario Dawson
- Taye Diggs
- Jamie-Lynn DiScala
- Hilary Duff
- Kirsten Dunst
- Eliza Dushku
- Carmen Electra
- Missy Elliott
- Shannon Elizabeth
- Eve
- Vivica A. Fox
- Goldberg
- Seth Green
- Salma Hayek
- Jon Heder
- Katie Holmes
- Marques Houston
- Jadakiss
- Chris Klein
- Beyonce Knowles
- Nick Lachey
- Tommy Lee
- Lindsay Lohan
- Eva Longoria
- Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Benji Madden
- Joel Madden
- Jena Malone
- Mario
- Jesse Metcalfe
- Dave Mirra
- Mandy Moore
- Frankie Muniz
- Mya
- Tracy Morgan
- Dave Navarro
- Dirk Nowitzki
- Omarion
- Kelly Osbourne
- Outkast
- Matthew Perry
- Mekhi Phifer
- Pink
- Jaime Pressly
- Tara Reid
- Denise Richards
- Nicole Richie
- Kid Rock
- The Rock
- Andy Roddick
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Zoe Saldana
- Warren Sapp
- Mike Shinoda
- Ashlee Simpson
- Jessica Simpson
- Jeremy Sisto
- Joss Stone
- Julia Stiles
- Amber Tamblyn
- Justin Timberlake
- Usher
- Wilmer Valderrama
- Kanye West
- Serena Williams
- Evan Rachel Wood