Celebs Who Expertly Pranked Other Celebs

Celebrities entertain their fans by singing, dancing, and acting, but when it comes to amusing themselves, sometimes what they need is a good laugh at another star's expense. In fact, pranking is so popular among the glitterati that "That '70s Show" star Ashton Kutcher based an entire reality series on the premise of fooling the rich and famous. But while there have been some pretty epic gags pulled on MTV's "Punk'd," some stars are just natural practical jokesters who don't need the help of a production crew and paid actors.

That being said, having an enormous expendable income and access to special effects teams can come in handy. Take the April Fools' Day joke that Kit Harington played on his wife and "Game of Thrones" co-star Rose Leslie in 2017. She appeared to be on the verge of hyperventilating when he surprised her with a fake severed head inside their refrigerator — and yes, the realistic prop bore a striking resemblance to Harington's "Game of Thrones" character Jon Snow. He's lucky Leslie didn't go all Ygritte on him by turning him into an arrow pincushion.

Sometimes celebrity pranks backfire and require apologies, like when YouTuber Bryce Hall had to tell couple Dixie D'Amelio and Noah Beck that he was sorry for potentially causing a lovers' spat with a prank involving strippers and a blindfolded Beck. It could be argued that some of the other celebs below took things a bit too far, but you've got to appreciate their dedication to their craft.

It's not uncommon for talk show hosts to prank their guests to get laughs, but James Corden went to extreme lengths to fool legendary footballer David Beckham on a 2019 episode of "The Late Late Show." Two years earlier, a statue of fellow soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo had become a viral sensation because the effigy wasn't exactly flattering. Beckham was about to have his own statue unveiled at the LA Galaxy's Dignity Health Sports Park, and he thought that he was getting a sneak peek at it. In reality, he would be looking at the, um, interesting sculpture Corden had commissioned. The likeness of "Golden Balls" had a much bigger butt and chin than the real deal — and far fewer teeth.

While speaking to a comedian posing as the statue's sculptor, Beckham opined, "The only thing that's good is the hair." The two argued over what the athlete's bum looks like "in motion," and an incredulous Beckham remarked that it was a good thing his kids weren't attending the unveiling because the statue would likely upset them. "Look how long my arms are. I honestly look like Stretch Armstrong," he stated. When a forklift knocked the sculpture over and broke it into pieces, he almost seemed relieved. "You've probably done me a favor there," the football star told the forklift operator. Beckham was a good sport when Corden revealed the ruse, and he shared a laugh with his friend.

When he was the target of the first-ever "Punk'd" prank in 2003, Justin Timblerlake made the acquaintance of a then-unknown Dax Shepard. The actor was posing as an IRS agent, and Timberlake had no clue that he was acting. Shepard told the "Cry Me a River" singer that he owed $900,000 in taxes and his property was being seized, including his home, vehicles, and even his dogs. Timberlake got so upset that he sat down on his porch steps and cried.

When the two reminisced about their "Punk'd" episode on Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast in 2021, the host finally got the chance to tell Timberlake about the impression he left on him after their tense encounter. "What I felt like I learned about you as a person is that you're just a beautiful guy," Shepard said. He recalled observing that Timberlake "got really emotional" when he was informed that his dogs were being taken, which made him feel like he'd "gone too far."

Timberlake explained that the dogs belonged to his mother, and he feared that she would never forgive him if she didn't get to see them again. He also confessed that he had gotten "so stoned" before Shepard showed up at his house, and the entire experience made him swear off weed "for at least a year." He remembered saying to his friend, "I'm so high, man. Is this real?"

In July 2021, Seth Rogen took to Twitter to reveal that he was on the receiving end of what might just be the kindest, gentlest Hollywood prank ever. He was getting a massage in Las Vegas when he learned that the treatment was really one very relaxing ruse. "When I finished I turned over and to my shock Paul Rudd was massaging me," his viral tweet read. "He saw me go in and convinced the masseuse to let him take over, thinking I'd notice immediately." However, Rogen did not, and his "Knocked Up" co-star stayed committed to the gag by completing the massage.

Rudd later confirmed that Rogen was telling no tales with a brief statement to Mediate. "Haha! It's 100% true," he said. Luckily for the hundreds of thousands of netizens who were captivated by the funny anecdote, Rogen elaborated on the incident during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" He told guest host Nick Kroll that it was "a good massage" but he finally noticed that his masseuse had been replaced when Rudd began excessively grabbing his face. "It shows how little boundaries I have. I wasn't even gonna open my eyes. Like this stranger is fondling my head now and I paid for it, so I might as well let it happen," he said. Rogen's continued cluelessness was just too much for Rudd, who gave himself away by "laughing hysterically" as he gripped his friend's face. 

Before Stefani Germanotta dyed her hair platinum blond and became Lady Gaga, the future Oscar winner popped up on an MTV reality series that didn't find the same level of success as "Punk'd." The show "Boiling Points" also involved playing pranks on unsuspecting non-celebrities, and they were designed to make the targets angry and upset. If they kept their tempers in check for a certain amount of time, they won a $100 bill.

In a 2005 episode, the artist now known as Lady Gaga was eating lunch at a restaurant when she had to leave her table. Upon her return, she realized that her food was gone. She informed the waitress, who brought her salad back — with a large piece of trash on top of it. "This is disgusting," an outraged Germanotta exclaimed. "Who puts that in their mouth? Would you put that in your mouth? It has s*** all over it!" When she started cursing at the waitress, the future "Poker Face" hitmaker lost the game that she didn't even know she was playing.

The waitress was actually an actor named Rebekka Johnson, who would go on to play one of the "Beatdown Biddies" on the Netflix series "GLOW." During an interview with MTV News, Johnson spoke about her brush with "The Fame" singer. She revealed that she later became a Gaga fan and said that the pop star was "pretty cool" about the prank after she learned that she'd been set up.

Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki were hoping to leave their co-stars in stitches by pranking them on the set of "The Big Bang Theory," but instead they were left stunned when Cuoco had to get stitches. During a panel at Comic-Con in 2017, Cuoco recounted how she and Galecki decided to stage a fight while filming the episode "The Tangible Affection Proof." Their characters, Leonard and Penny, were having a lovers' quarrel during their Valentine's Day dinner, and the actors decided to take the spat to the next level. Their plan was for Galecki to "fake punch" Cuoco. She even had hair extensions put in for him to yank out and throw.

"So, we did it, and I fell over, and the chair — no one knew this, and I didn't either — clocked me in the head," Cuoco recalled. However, she wasn't concerned. "And I come back up, and I'm like, 'How did it look?'" she continued. She remembered seeing the look on co-star Simon Helberg's face when he saw the extent of her head injury. "And it was my blood just gushing out," Cuoco told the Comic-Con audience as she used her hand to mimic blood erupting from her forehead. She compared the wound to one suffered by a boxer during a fight. It required stitches, and the rest of her scenes in the episode had to be shot with her "facing a certain way" to hide them.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez didn't get their happy ending, but they did make some pretty amazing memories together before Bennifer made a comeback. One of the former couple's most entertaining moments occurred when A-Rod teamed up with renowned mentalist Lior Suchard to play a trick on J.Lo during a dinner party in 2018. If Suchard's name seems familiar, it might be because you've seen him on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," where he's amazed the likes of Alice Eve, Harry Connick Jr., and the Jonas Brothers with his mind-blowing tricks.

On his Instagram page, Rodriguez shared a video of Jenny from the Block being fooled by Suchard. Lopez followed the mentalist as he walked around a large dinner table and tapped her guests on the back. When he snapped his fingers, the diners all slammed their foreheads down in unison. The unexpected reaction startled Lopez and made her cover her mouth with her hand in disbelief. "What?" was all the visibly shaken singer could say. Her guests thoroughly enjoyed her response. After they lifted their heads, they burst into laughter and gave her a round of applause. "We got you!" someone shouted. When Rodriguez first saw his ex with Ben Affleck, maybe he thought she was just playing a revenge prank on him — no mentalist could have foreseen that reunion.

Sometimes celebrity pranksters find formidable famous foes, and things escalate to the point that they become embroiled in an all-out prank war. John Krasinski learned a thing or two about the art of such battles while playing Jim Halpert On "The Office." However, suspending Dwight Schrute's stapler in Jell-O paled in comparison to his real-life antics.

During a 2014 episode of his talk show, Jimmy Kimmel recounted how Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, started a festive "holiday tradition." Unbeknownst to him, the couple entered his home and set up a snowman and Santa Claus light display. Kimmel retaliated by installing a neon insurance sign outside their house, and their next move was to plant a frightening zombie figure in his garden. Not to be outdone, Kimmel placed an enormous inflatable reindeer in the couple's driveway the following year. Instead of giving them a chance to counterattack, he tried to win the war by having his staff gift wrap the couple's entire house.

But an undeterred Krasinski struck back over and over again. In the following years, he gift-wrapped Kimmel's car and filled it with shiny round baubles, surprised him with a pants-less Santa outside his office window, placed a live reindeer inside his bathroom at work, and turned his office into a winter wonderland. Krasinski's efforts were rewarded when Kimmel dumped gallons of eggnog on his head. Will these two ever stop getting on Santa's naughty list?