![\"\u201cGypsy\u201d](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/b0f037878a1832807fb238b65e6923bdf9-zach-braff.rsquare.w330.jpg\")
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\n This rumor ends today.
\n Photo: Bruce Glikas\/WireImage\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
Scrubs star Zach Braff just gripped his hand tightly around the Streisand-effect lever and heaved it down hard. On Thursday, March 12, Braff went on Instagram Stories to acknowledge a rumor<\/a> that picked up steam this week thanks to a post by celebrity-gossip account DeuxMoi. Earlier in the day, the Instagram account regurgitated a clip<\/a> from a December 2025 episode of the podcast I Need You Guys hosted by Max Silvestri, Jenny Slate, and Gabe Liedman in which the comedians discussed a juicy rumor with guest Kumail Nanjiani<\/a> about an unnamed \u201cwell-known actor\u201d Silvestri had been told was \u201ccurrently in a romantic relationship with his AI chatbot and brings the chatbot with him places.\u201d Silvestri teased that the actor is \u201cas near as A-list as TV can get you\u201d and has a certain level of self-awareness about the whole AI-girlfriend thing. He never revealed the actor, but the clip shows Silvestri texting the suspect\u2019s name to the others, prompting Nanjiani to loudly laugh and call the reveal \u201cperfect, perfect, perfect\u201d and \u201cso good.\u201d Slate then cuts in and says, \u201cWe can\u2019t put this on our podcast. It\u2019s not nice.\u201d<\/p>\n The original clip got its fair share of engagement and guesses back in December, and in late February, comedians Chris Fleming<\/a> and Caleb Hearon also briefly discussed it on Hearon\u2019s podcast, So True<\/a>. Fleming hinted that the actor in question was \u201cMr. Tumnus,\u201d a reference to Fleming saying that Braff has \u201cMr. Tumnus vibes\u201d in his stand-up<\/a>. (\u201cHe\u2019s bringing it to restaurants,\u201d Fleming told Hearon. \u201cPeople are so humiliating. But this is good for the culture, actually,\u201d Hearon said.) But it wasn\u2019t until the DeuxMoi repost three months later that Braff felt the need to respond to the buildup of claims that he is the AI Chatbot Girlfriend Guy. Overlaid on a screengrab of Silvestri \u2014\u00a0who, again, never named Braff during the I Need You Guys discussion \u2014\u00a0from the podcast clip, Braff wrote:<\/p>\n I\u2019m not dating a chatbot.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t believe I have to type these words.<\/p>\n It is a storyline in an upcoming ep of Scrubs.<\/p>\n Maybe it came from that?<\/p>\n Not sure.<\/p>\n But not me.<\/p>\n Love,<\/p>\n The guy not dating his chatbot.<\/p>\n Please update all gossip sites.<\/p>\n Braff followed it with another screengrab of Slate \u2014\u00a0who, again, just to be clear, never named Braff \u2014\u00a0with more:<\/p>\n Also I had no idea until tonight (because I\u2019m not on TikTok) that these folks were the origin of this?<\/p>\n He ended his response with one more screengrab featuring Nanjiani \u2014\u00a0who, yet again, it seems necessary to fully emphasize, never uttered Braff\u2019s name \u2014\u00a0with some advice:<\/p>\n I feel like now is a good time to be kind to people.<\/p>\n Braff\u2019s response to this whole thing raises a few questions:<\/p>\n \u2022 Does Braff realize that his choice to refer to \u201chis chatbot\u201d instead of \u201ca chatbot\u201d in his response implies that he is engaged in some type of relationship with an AI chatbot, whether romantic (which he denies), platonic, or clerical?<\/p>\n \u2022 It seems strange for Braff to plaster screengrabs of Silvestri, Slate, and Nanjiani\u2019s faces behind his statement refuting the rumor, because the comedians never claimed it involved Braff to begin with. The podcast is three months old. Why not screenshot the DeuxMoi post featuring the Her movie poster instead?<\/p>\n \u2022 What, exactly, is Braff calling unkind? Silvestri said he heard the actor had a certain level of self-awareness about the reactions having an AI-chatbot girlfriend might cause; he described the actor\u2019s general energy as \u201cYeah, sorry that you\u2019re not onboard with the future.\u201d By using the screenshot of Nanjiani, is Braff calling it mean to laugh at the idea of a TV star who has an AI-chatbot girlfriend?<\/p>\n \u2022 Does any of this make Braff appear to be less of a suspect?<\/p>\n \u2022 This rumor barely got any coverage when the I Need You Guys podcast was released in December. Does Braff recognize that now, since his Instagram Story posts, \u201cZach Braff Says He Doesn\u2019t Have an AI Chatbot Girlfriend\u201d headlines are<\/a> all<\/a> over<\/a> the<\/a> internet<\/a>?<\/p>\n \u2022 Is this good promo for the new Scrubs?<\/p>\n Maybe everyone involved just needs to step back and get some perspective by looking to Silvestri, who posted on Instagram Stories on March 13 after Braff\u2019s posts made everything explode. \u201cHave never mentioned this man\u2019s name in my life,\u201d Silvestri wrote. \u201cAren\u2019t there more important stories in the world right now? Between tariffs and energy prices, the average American can barely afford to charge their girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n