Zack Braff Denies Bizarre Claim About 'AI Girlfriend'
Zach Braff is shutting down one wild rumor about his dating life.
On Thursday, March 12, the Scrubs star took to his Instagram stories to deny online speculation he’s in a relationship with an AI chatbot. Yes, you read that correctly and, yes, Braff was just as shocked to hear the gossip himself.
“I’m not dating a chatbot,” he wrote in a since-expired story. “I can’t believe I have to type these words.”
He then added some additional context, speculating why he believes some may have linked him to a blind item first shared on the I Need You Guys podcast with Kumail Nanjiani, Jenny Slate, Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman back in December.
“It’s a storyline in an upcoming [episode] of Scrubs,” said Braff. “Maybe it came from that? Not sure. But not me. Love, The guy not dating his chatbot. Please update all gossip sites.”
Scrubs returned for a 10th season back in February, following a six-year hiatus. The show is still dropping new episodes Wednesdays on ABC.
How the AI Gossip Started
@ineedyouguysshow ???? ❤️ ????
♬ original sound - I Need You Guys - I Need You Guys
Back in December, Silvestri dropped some “gossip” on his podcast, prefacing it by saying he wouldn’t reveal who it was about.
“There’s a well-known actor who is currently in a romantic relationship with his AI chatbot,” he shared, as all three of his co-hosts reacted with shock. “And brings the chatbot with him places,” he added.
Nanjiani then wondered just “how well known is this actor?”—with Silvestri dropping another clue by telling them, “As near A-list as TV can get you.”
When asked whether this unnamed star was “self aware about how weird it is” to be in a relationship with a digital partner, Silvestri added, “There is a self awareness, but kind of in like a, ‘Yeah, sorry that you’re not on board with the future.’”
Silvestri then texted the name of the person in question to the group, but didn’t share it publicly. “This is not, we can’t put this on our podcast. It’s not nice,” said Slate after learning their identity, before Nanjiani added, “It’s so good.”
The clip was shared to TikTok, where Braff emerged as one of the top guesses at the time. “I’ve heard this about Zach Braff,” read one comment which generated a lot of likes.
The footage also made its way to Reddit this week, where, again, Braff was a top guess.
“It’s Zach Braff,” speculated one person, before another followed it up with a pretty great response referencing Braff's past relationship with Florence Pugh. “How do you go from Florence to The Machine ????” they quipped, earning thousands of upvotes on the platform.
Braff himself only learned of the speculation this week, likely after it went viral all over again on Reddit.
“I had no idea until tonight (because I’m not on TikTok) that these folks were the origin of this?” he reportedly wrote next to screenshots of the podcast. He concluded his denial by adding, “I feel like now is a good time to be kind to people.”