Weird NewsWisconsinPranks comedians

Comedians Trick TV Show Into Booking Them As 'Fitness Experts,' Get Sued

"A simple Google search could have vetted this."
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

It’s no joke: The owners of a Wisconsin TV station are suing two comedians who pranked the morning news show by pretending to be fitness experts.

Back in November, New York-based comedians Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher appeared as a “strongman duo” named Chop and Steele on “Hello Wisconsin,” a news program on WEAU-TV in Eau Claire.

As “Joe ‘Chop’ Shopsin” and “Nicholas ‘Steele’ Stelling,” the duo offered a variety of bizarre fitness tips including: Tennis racket sword fights.

Karate-chopping sticks.

Stomping on straw baskets.

And whatever the heck this is.

Atlanta-based Gray Television, which owns WEAU-TV, is suing Pickett and Prueher for using fake names and materials to fraudulently convince station producers to book them on the show, according to the Mercury News.

They “performed ridiculous bits and provided false information to WEAU viewers,” the complaint states.

The two comedians don’t deny that.

“We hated doing promotional appearances on morning shows as ourselves so we thought it would be funny and interesting to see if we could book fake people on these morning shows,” Prueher told the New York Daily News.

“Chop and Steele” managed to get booked on seven morning shows. Prueher thinks the segments were more fun than if they just promoted their regular gig: The Found Footage Festival, a touring show of strange and unusual videos.

The segments were supposed to be funny, but there is a higher purpose, according to Prueher.

“Our prank establishes the point about how easy it it is to put forth fake news,” he told CleveScene.com. 

Attorneys for Gray Television aren’t commenting on the suit, but the complaint alleges the duo infringed on the copyright of the Nov. 29 episode of “Hello Wisconsin,” and is likely to do so again unless the court issues a permanent injunction, according to the Mercury News.

The suit also asks for a judgment against the Found Footage Festival “for any profits or gains attributable to the infringement, along with compensatory and punitive damages, costs and attorneys’ fees incurred in pursuing the action and interest.”

Prueher told the New York Daily News that WEAU bears at least some responsibility for allowing the prank to go through.

“A simple Google search could have vetted this,” he said.

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Before You Go

Biggest April Fools Pranks
The Taco Liberty Bell(01 of08)
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Taco Bell attempted a different kind of advertising for April Fools Day 1996 when they purchased full page ads in seven major newspapers across the U.S. In these ads Taco Bell announced that they had purchased the Liberty Bell and were renaming it the "Taco Liberty Bell." They claimed that the purchase was to "help alleviate national debt." Thousands of people picked up their phones and protested until Taco Bell revealed the hoax at noon that day. It is believed that Taco Bell's strategy paid off and earned them millions of dollars in free publicity.
Man Runs 26 Day Marathon(02 of08)
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The "Daily Mail" in London reported that a Japanese man had entered the 1981 London Marathon and due to a mistranslation thought he had to run for 26 days, not miles. A man was spotted running outside of London and wouldn't stop when people tried to get his attention. The whole story turned out to be a hoax and the man that people saw was just another piece to the elaborate prank by The "Daily Mail".
Left-Handed Whopper(03 of08)
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The April 1st 1998 edition of the USA Today featured a full page ad by Burger King announcing the creation of their latest twist on their most popular sandwich, The Left Handed Whopper. The ad stated that the condiments on the burger were rotated 180 degrees for easier consumption by people who were left handed. The following day Burger King released a press release that confirmed that the Left-Handed Whopper was not real and that thousands of people went into various Burger Kings asking for both left and right-handed Whoppers.
Wisconsin Capitol Building Collapses(04 of08)
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In 1933, the "Madison Capital-Times" reported that the capitol building had collapsed due to a build-up of gases from the debating that was going on in the building. After it was discovered that the building was intact, the "Capital-Times" was met with a reaction of both outrage and laughter.
Whistling Carrots(05 of08)
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British Supermarket chain Tesco ran an ad in "The Sun" that announced that they had developed genetically modified carrots that grew with tapered air holes in their sides. When the carrot was fully cooked the carrot would use these air holes and "whistle." Unfortunately for many disappointed customers, Tesco made the whole thing up, but most likely sold more carrots than usual.
Google: Mentalplex(06 of08)
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The first time Google pulled a prank on its faithful users was for April Fools Day in 2000. Google announced its new "Mentalplex Technology" which claimed to be able to read a user's mind so they didn't have to enter their search query. A person using "Mentalplex" would have to stare at a revolving shape and then would be treated to a Google Results page for "April Fools Day". This was the first time Google surprised its users and it certainly wasn't the last. There is an entire Wikipedia article dedicated to Google's various hoaxes.
Thomas Edison's Food Machine(07 of08)
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Thomas Edison was renowned as a genius in his day and in 1878 New York "Graphic" announced that the New Jersey dweller had invented a machine that could turn water into wine and soil into cereal. This of course was a hoax, but other newspapers around the country didn't get the joke and published the article with tons of editorial praise. The next day the "Graphic" re-published some of the praise with the headline, "They Bite!"
Alabama Changes The Value Of Pi(08 of08)
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The "New Mexicans for Science and Reason" newsletter played a huge prank on its number crunching readers. For their April 1998 issue, the newsletter ran an article claiming that Alabama State legislature had legally changed the value of Pi from 3.141 to the more biblically important 3. This article spread like wildfire and was reported by other news outlets. The result was Alabama's State Legislature being flooded with phone calls in protest of a law that they weren't even aware of. The perpetrator of the prank was physicist Mark Boslough. Who knew that a physicist could be such a prankster?
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