Hitch’d?

Well, it’s been almost two weeks since Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore allegedly tied the knot, and still reps for both actors are keeping mum about it. Within days of the wedding, reports began circulating that suggested the marriage was a hoax; but how reliable are those sources?

Now brace yourself—this is a strange and sordid web of “he said-she said” allegations and denials. It’s only complicated by the spokespersons for the couple, who aren’t saying much of anything.

It all started a few months ago with a website called ashtonhacked.com, which posted a series of voicemails allegedly left on Kutcher’s cell phone. They were posted by a couple of videogame buffs that call themselves “Bloodmaster” and “Fraglord,” who claim to have hacked into Ashton’s voicemail.

The site is registered to a guy named John B. Myers, who, immediately after the wedding, began sending e-mails to all of the major news networks and TV tabloids. In his e-mail, he claimed to have documented proof that the Kutcher/Moore wedding was faked and filmed, to be used as the season premiere for “Punk’d.” (For the record, Myers denies that he operates ashtonhacked.com, and claims that the actual operators licensed it under his name and without his knowledge.) He offered to provide the proof to the highest bidder.

The proof that Myers claims to have is an e-mail from Jason Goldberg, a friend of Kutcher’s and co-producer of “Punk’d,” to several key players in the prank. Goldberg allegedly writes, “Please remember that not everyone attending knows that this is for the show, so bring your A-game and keep your mouth shut…As always, if anyone asks anything before we’ve staged the reveal, DENY.”

The e-mail goes on to suggest that the wedding was only the second part of a three-part stunt. “We’re planning for part 3 to begin the week of 10/3, but let’s deal with that after this nightmare is finished (I mean, joyous matrimony.)” So far, Goldberg hasn’t denied sending the e-mail, but representatives for Ashton and Demi have each denounced Myers’ claim that the wedding was faked. Ashton’s rep, Leslie Sloan Zelnick, told the New York Daily News, “The e-mail [from ‘Jason Goldberg’] is completely false, just like those stupid voicemails. Ashton is not punking anyone here.” Moore’s spokesperson called e-mail “fake.” Neither rep, however, would confirm that the couple actually got married.

The true barometer for the credibility of any rumor, though, is from responses to blog posts. To test the waters, I hit up Entertainment Weekly’s “Popwatch” website. A woman named Nancy said of the rumors, “I think it is a Punk’ed since none of Kushner’s family was there.” A guy named Troy writes, “I think it’s great they got married, even if it isn’t real. As long as they are happy together. I’ve been in a committed relationship for 6 years with a man 12 years my senior.”

Okay, so maybe the jury’s still out on the legitimacy of their vows. But the new season of “Punk’d” begins on October 30th. I’m sure we’ll find out then if it’s “for better or for worse,” or “you’ve all been Punk’d.”

-From Pulse
October 6, 2005