Did Kutcher Punk the Media?

Remember that whole Hep-A scare at West Village bar Socialista? Reports came in this week that the whole thing may have been a joke -- but who's laughing? Probably not the owners of Socialista.

Word is that Ashton Kutcher has a new show coming out called Pop Fiction, which has thus far been kept under wraps. Not straying far from his Punk'd roots, the series (which will air on the E! network) is a prank show that turns the cameras on the paparazzi and media outlets. Kutcher and some high profile stars have set up fake scenarios and planted news stories (this one E! even fell for), all in the name of punking the punks that watch their every move.

There's no official word on whether or not the Socialista scare was a part of this, but Kutcher did have an A-list crowd at the club for his birthday party that week. Radar confirms that the Health Department was called in to investigate a Hepatitis scare -- but maybe they got punk'd, too.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on March 8, 2008 5:00 PM

Comments [rss]

SFNY

#6, not exclusively. both hsv-1 and -2 can be in either location b/c of oral sex.

Think2wice

Talk about 30 going on 13.

banjoandro

If it was fake, Ashton would have some serious explaining to do. The city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars vaccinating all the hipsters that attended his little Hep-A party. Break out the wallet Ashton

emilydickinson

Oh good grief. Place too many stars with too much time on their hands, in a room with a bunch of sycophantic PR people, with too much blow and good booze, and you end up with this. A joke that just isn't funny.

People are manipulating the media? You don't say? Thanks for helping us figure that out, Ashton you're Milf-Hunter Phillip K. Dick!

Streamwise

Considering this rumor was already shot down by the NYC health department, why is Gothamist continuuing to propagate this crap!!

Toby von Meistersinger

If it is true, we can't wait until the is "punked" when they send him to Rikers.

yesiliveinwilliamsburg

hey matty,

the herpes virus causes cold sores. hsv-1 is the mouth one, hsv-2 is the genital one. just fyi.

babyhitler

ahh yeah. Government spending money by sending healthcare specialists to investigate faux health scare instead of curing AIDS. You got PUnk'd AMERICA!