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Scrubs star Zach Braff has denied he is dating an AI chatbot.
The actor and filmmaker, who also wrote, directed and starred in the 2004 dramedy Garden State, issued the surprising denial to his Instagram account, after internet users baselessly claimed he was less into manic pixie dream girls than into manic pixie dream robots.
The rumour that Braff was dating a chatbot originated in December on the comedy podcast I Need You Guys, and a claim made by comedian Max Silvestri that he had heard a story about a “well-known actor” currently romantically involved with the tech.
“I have gossip that I’m not gonna put a name to,” Silvestri said. “There’s a well-known actor who is currently in a romantic relationship with his AI chatbot … and brings the chatbot with him places.”
Asked by his co-hosts Jenny Slate and Gabe Liedman how well-known the actor is, Silvestri said: “As near A-list as TV can get you.”
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Zach Braff at a US TV premiere this month (Getty Images)
Silvestri added that the unnamed star is aware that his new relationship is unconventional, but that he tells people “sorry that you’re not on board with the future”.
The clip went viral on TikTok, with a number of commenters baselessly claiming that Braff was the star in question.
On Thursday (12 March), Braff himself shared screenshots of the podcast discussion on his Instagram stories, alongside the caption: “I’m not dating a chatbot. I can’t believe I have to type these words.”
Somewhat unusually, Braff theorised that there may have been a blurring of fact and fiction involved in the rumour, as he said a future storyline on the rebooted Scrubs, which has just returned for a new series, involves a character dating a chatbot.
“Maybe it came from that? Not sure. But not me. Love, The guy not dating his chatbot. Please update all gossip sites.”
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A screenshot of the actor’s Instagram story this week (Instagram)
Braff also seemed to express hurt at the rumour, writing in a further Instagram story that he had “no idea” that the rumour originated from the podcast, writing: “I feel like now is a good time to be kind to people.”
Braff was previously in a relationship with the actor Florence Pugh, who defended the pair’s 21-year age gap in a video in 2020 after Braff was inundated with abuse online. “I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love,” Pugh said. The pair split in 2022 after three years together.
The actor currently stars in the reboot of the medical comedy Scrubs, which has been praised for sticking to its formula. “Sixteen years may have passed but this is Scrubs as we once knew it: ridiculous and committed to the bit,” wrote Annabel Nugent in The Independent. “This, reassuringly, feels like the Scrubs of yore.”