Jimmy Kimmel Punks Media with Fake Twerking Girl

Jimmy Kimmel sure fooled everyone with his latest prank.

Last week, a video posted on YouTube called “Worst Twerk Fail Ever-Girl Catches Fire!” went viral, receiving over 9 million views. In the video, a girl accidentally sets herself on fire while twerking in her living room.

Several TV news outlets aired the video, which brought up a discussion about how dangerous twerking can be.  Many also wondered if the whole event was actually staged.

Those doubters were right. “We made it up,” Kimmel declared Monday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, admitting they filmed the video two months ago.

“We didn’t send it to any TV stations, I didn’t Tweet it,” Kimmel added. “We didn’t put it on any news web sites. We just put it on YouTube and let the magic happen. And the magic happened.”

The woman in the video, “Caitlin Heller,” appeared on the show to talk about the clip.  The girl show in the video is actually Daphne Avalon, a professional stunt-woman.  She revealed she was “sworn to secrecy” about the prank, causing her to receive many messages from family and friends, including a concerned Facebook message from an ex-boyfriend.

“Thank you for helping us deceive the world and hopefully put an end to twerking forever,” Kimmel told her.

Watch the video below to see Kimmel reveal he was behind the prank.  Did you fall for the hoax?