Comedian Guy Branum sounded off on his TikTok account this week, where he regularly posts standup clips and tells stories about his personal life. On Wednesday, the Chelsea Lately alum told the story of his "worst Hollywood boss," and internet detectives have already gotten to work at figuring out who it was.
Branum prefaced his story with the disclaimer, "I probably should not be telling this story," which is already setting a benchmark of what is undoubtedly going to be a good story.
"So he is an actor whom I had costarred with in a movie, and he also created a noteworthy prank show," Branum explained. "But! I had just lost the best job I had ever had in the industry. I was desperate for money, and a friend of a friend recommended me to write for this prank show."
"And the guy who created it already kind of didn't like me, but he was scared of me, and I valued that," he continued. "He was one of the dumbest human beings that I've ever experienced."
@guybranumcomedy My worst Hollywood Boss. #standup #storytime #prank #hollywood #boss #chalkart
♬ original sound - GuyBranum
Branum said that in this particular instance, the actor had an idea for a prank that involved a chalk artist drawing a big chasm in the ground—quipping that "he probably didn't know the word chasm"—to trick the celebrity guest into thinking there had been an earthquake that literally opened up the earth.
"And, ladies and gentlemen, there's nothing harder than having to not laugh in your boss's face," he added. "Understanding if you laugh in their face, you will not be able to pay your rent. But they are saying the stupidest things imaginable."
Suffice to say, it didn't take long for people to put two and two together. In 2011, Branum made his feature film debut in the romantic comedy No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher, who famously co-created and hosted the MTV hidden camera prank series Punk'd.
Though, it's worth noting that Kutcher hosted the show from 2003 through 2007, and it does not appear in the writing credits on Branum's IMDB page.
Still, the clues were enough to have folks convinced. "Does his name rhyme with Kashton Butcher?" asked one commenter, while another added: "You’re fine. You didn’t use his name. No Strings Attached." "Sir, I pulled your IMDB page so fast my phone fainted," one user quipped.
In either case, Branum is likely the least of Kutcher's worries these days. The 46-year-old's friendship with Sean "Diddy" Combs has been scrutinized in recent months following the rapper's racketeering and sex trafficking charges, which he's currently awaiting trial for. Not to mention, it did not reflect well on Kutcher and his wife Mila Kunis when they submitted letters to a judge asking for leniency following the rape conviction of their friend and That '70s Show costar Danny Masterson.
If it was indeed Kutcher, one would have to imagine Branum has been waiting to tell the story for years.
