Celebrity April Fool's Jokes That Went Very Wrong

April Fool's Day jokes are all fun and games until someone gets hurt — more often than
not, just butthurt, but still.
Sometimes the subject matter of an earnest ploy is just too heavy for hilarity.
Other times, the line between reality and jest is just too blurred to tell the jokester
was kidding in the first place, leaving people angry, disappointed, and everywhere in between.
For these celebrities, the joke was on them after their harmless little pranks backfired
spectacularly.
The Drarry tease
Draco Malfoy actor Tom Felton decided to get in on the April Fool's fun in 2015 when he
posted a shirtless selfie alongside his Harry Potter co-star and on-screen rival Daniel
Radcliffe with the caption, "May as well just say it.
We're together now x #drarry."
Some Harry Potter fan-fic lovers who'd been looking for some cheeky visual support for
their obsession might've gotten a kick out of it.
"That was bloody brilliant."
But some fans commenting on the Instagram post were highly disappointed that the steamy
image was a Photoshop job and that "Drarry" — that is, the combo of Felton's Draco Malfoy
and Radcliffe's Harry — wasn't the real deal.
"You wish."
Thirsty Housewife
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna is already divisive enough among Bravo
fans, thanks to her constant willingness to interfere with other people's' lives and penchant
for doublespeak.
So, when she posted a bald selfie in 2016 with the caption, "Omg this just happened!!!!
I feel so free!!!!
Thank God I've got great wigs and extra wig glue for my QVC appearance tomorrow!
#BaldIsBeautiful," the response was … not kind.
The reality star was slammed for her thirsty-for-attention photo prank, not just because it was completely
random, but because it read as offensive to those women who really might lose their hair
thanks to medical conditions, like chemo treatment.
She's since deleted the image, and the network tried to do a little damage control by connecting
her post to comments made by a co-star about her constantly wearing a wig, but that did
little to quell the outrage.
A fake baby for Gwen, Blake, and Joe
With their whirlwind romance and new albums each, The Voice co-stars Gwen Stefani and
Blake Shelton regularly earned top headline placement in 2016.
The two had both just ended their marriages when they got together — with all the attendant
drama and rumor mill spinning in play for each — and they happily shared the nitty
gritty of their new courtship on social media and on-camera appearances.
So, when Stefani posted an ultrasound shot with the caption, "It's a girl" on Instagram,
people were understandably fooled.
But once the reality set in that this was a holiday-related "gotcha" moment instead
of the real deal, the comments went from congratulatory to condemning.
For some, faking a pregnancy was just plain offensive, given the infertility struggles
many families experience.
For others, they were just plain disappointed that the No Doubt rocker wouldn't be able
to dress up a daughter in her signature wild style.
To be fair to Stefani, she wasn't the first — or last, probably — to pull a stunt
like this — Joe Jonas and Hailee Steinfeld did something very similar the year before,
and the singer drew the ire of his Twitter followers.
No love for this joke
Country crooner Brad Paisley tried to pull a fast one on his Twitter followers when,
on April Fool's Day in 2016, he announced that he was releasing a new album with a curious
theme.
"Excited to announce my next single is 'Cousinly Love' from the just announced new album, 'Rock
Bottom Looks Good on You.'
Available today," he wrote.
And while most people responded with the requisite amount of teary laugh emojis, he went even
further by performing an actual ode to his first cousin on tour.
"You'll always be my first cousin."
This spurred plenty of speculation as to whether this "album" would be a nod to the more Appalachian
areas of America.
And, of course, there were those who were ultimately disappointed to find out it wasn't
real because, y'know, they wanted more of Paisley's new music.
Womp womp.
Not true Lovitz
When 90210 actress and singer Jessica Lowndes posted an announcement that she and actor
Jon Lovitz, 31 years her senior, were in a relationship, she meant it to be a very well-constructed
joke in celebration of the annual day of hijinks.
However, their posts came about a week before April Fool's — so, quite naturally, people
didn't get the joke.
Instead, many thought their suggestive images were the real deal, spawning a stream of public
disgust over their apparent hook-up.
After all, Lovitz has been known to play some pretty off-putting people in the past.
"Would you like to make love to me?"
"Really, really not."
Lowndes ultimately revealed that the elaborate prank was meant to pump the release of her
new music video for "Deja Vu (Remix)."
"I know it's still the last week of March, but it is too early to say April Fools?"
Uh, yes.
An entire week is the definition of too early to say April Fool's, lady.
She also told Entertainment Weekly that she and Lovitz were just "platonic" friends, and
the amount of ire the posts drew surprised even her.
The bad taste left in so many mouths after seeing their snaps just couldn't be washed
away for some fans.
Bieber don't lose that number
To put it plainly, almost no one attracts the kind of pure fanaticism that Justin Bieber
has earned over the years.
The YouTuber-turned-pop phenomenon has an entire legion of online Beliebers who would
do almost anything for a mere moment of time with the singer.
So, when he posted a phone number and said he was taking fan phone calls in 2013, his
fans were probably setting world records with how quickly — and often — they dialed it.
Only Bieber wasn't on the other end of that number.
It was actually the number to TMZ's offices, and the site admitted the prank was funny,
but also caused them technical troubles throughout the day as they fielded all the frenzied callers
that were hoping to speak to Justin.
That's when Harvey Levin made it his personal mission to get back at Bieber through his
manager, Scooter Braun, by sharing his number on their Twitter feed — and that's when
the situation got especially hairy and hilarious.
At the end of the day, though, the real April Fool's victims were the legions of Beliebers
who thought they'd be talking to this guy…
...and got this guy instead.
The Spring Breaker baby
As Gwen Stefani, Joe Jonas, and other celebs experienced, fans don't seem to take too kindly
to pretend pregnancy jokes as a general rule.
But when one-half of the "Jelena" complex is involved, the possibility of actual panic
becomes very real.
Such was the case when James Franco revealed on Instagram in 2015 that he and Spring Breakers
co-star Selena Gomez had conceived, carried, and now welcomed a child together.
The post came a few days before the actual April Fool's date, so many went nuts on the
actor's comments feed for getting in the middle of Gomez's on-again, off-again relationship
with Justin Bieber.
Until, that is, some realized that the photo he posted was actually just a shot of the
set of In Dubious Battle, a film he directed and starred in alongside Gomez.
A coming out celebration gone wrong
Oscar-winning singer Sam Smith made a divisive decision indeed when the openly gay artist
"revealed" on April Fool's Day, 2015, that he was actually straight.
He let a solid half hour go by before clarifying that it was just a bit of jest, but social
media users swarmed his feed with disapproval for his sense of humor.
Some users pounced on him for making light of his homosexuality, when there are many
who are less fortunate and famous who struggle with their identity and acceptance, and others
just thought it wasn't very funny.
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Celebrity April Fool's Jokes That Went Very Wrong

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