Punk'd

Punk'd logo

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 proved 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 four foreign stars, counting Matthew Perry, although he has both Canadian and American citizenships, have been Punk'd. British singer Joss Stone, Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki, and Mexican actress Salma Hayek have also been Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's crew members.

Celebrities who have been "punk'd"

Categories: Reality television series | MTV television series