{"id":2353904,"date":"2026-04-01T05:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T05:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2353904"},"modified":"2026-04-01T05:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T05:43:22","slug":"remembering-justin-timberlakes-hilarious-2003-punkd-prank-that-left-him-in-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/remembering-justin-timberlakes-hilarious-2003-punkd-prank-that-left-him-in-tears\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Justin Timberlake&#8217;s Hilarious 2003 &#8216;Punk&#8217;d&#8217; Prank That Left Him in Tears"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>On March 17, 2003, <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/1379772\/hannah-southwick\/justin-timberlake-net-worth\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Justin Timberlake;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Justin Timberlake<\/a><\/strong> got <strong>Punk\u2019d<\/strong>. And the antics that literally brought the pop star to tears still deliver the laughs today, 23 years later.<\/p>\n<p>Featured on the debut episode of <strong>MTV<\/strong>&#8216;s hidden-camera series hosted by <strong><em>That &#8217;70s Show<\/em><\/strong>&#8216;s <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/culture\/ashton-kutcher-net-worth\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ashton Kutcher;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Ashton Kutcher<\/a><\/strong>, Timberlake shows up at his home in the Hollywood Hills to would-be IRS agents seizing his personal belongings &#8212; everything from his fancy vehicles and water toys, to his dogs and guitar have been boxed, boarded, and billed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/1058813\/jessicasager\/kristen-bell-husband-dax-shepard\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Dax Shepard;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Dax Shepard<\/a><\/strong>, whose acting career was apparently minimal enough at the time that the big names and celebrities being duped didn\u2019t recognize him, plays the IRS man informing Timberlake he owes six figures in back taxes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you Mr. Timberlake?\u201d Shepard asks as the &#8220;Cry Me a River&#8221; singer walks toward him in a gray Nike T-shirt and baggy pants. He then proceeds to tell Timberlake that he owes $904,000 in back taxes and that there is now a lien on his property.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we step inside, please, for a minute?\u201d Timberlake asks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe house itself has been seized,&#8221; Shepard says. &#8220;It\u2019s now property of the government. We can\u2019t go inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/celebrities\/nsync-band-members-ranked-by-net-worth\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NSYNC;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">NSYNC<\/a><\/strong> alum begins to understand the weight of the situation, he gets on his 2000s-era flip phone to call his mom, and eventually has a seat on his front porch, dropping his head into his hands.<\/p>\n<p>As Shepard gets further instruction from Kutcher, who\u2019s watching the hilarity unfold from a secret bunker, the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/living\/funny-numbers-to-prank-call\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:prank;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">prank<\/a> takes a turn for the even more absurd. Shepard begins telling a tearful Timberlake that he&#8217;ll be OK and that he\u2019s young enough and handsome enough to no problem making the money back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really feel like you\u2019re chastising me right now,&#8221; Timberlake says.<\/p>\n<p>As the mood turns hostile following the fake agents breaking a guitar Timberlake believes is his, Kutcher &#8212; sporting the signature uniform of skater aughts culture: ringer tee, trucker hat, baggy jeans &#8212; walks out and the whole nightmare is revealed to be a gag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re an a\u2013hole,\u201d Timberlake yells, before breaking a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/1045449\/marynliles\/smile-quotes\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:smile;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">smile<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Punk\u2019d<\/em> ran from 2003 to 2015, spanning 10 seasons and 148 episodes. And even though it ended, the pranking continues.<\/p>\n<p>Hit shows like <em><strong>Jury Duty <\/strong><\/em>on <strong>Prime Video<\/strong> and <em><strong>Impractical Jokers<\/strong><\/em> are still going strong. Not to mention the NBA\u2019s <strong>Anthony Davis<\/strong> has <em><strong>Foul Play With Anthony Davis<\/strong><\/em> debuting April 6 on TBS, TNT, and truTV during which the biggest star athletes are all fair game.<\/p>\n<p>Watch your back out there.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/news\/orange-is-the-new-black-star-involved-in-shocking-physical-altercation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Related: 'Orange Is the New Black' Star Involved in Shocking Physical Altercation;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Related: &#8216;Orange Is the New Black&#8217; Star Involved in Shocking Physical Altercation<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><i>This story was originally published by <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/news\/2003-joke-called-greatest-prank-ever-resurfaces-23-years-later\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Parade;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Parade<\/a> on Apr 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/news\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:News;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">News<\/a> section. Add Parade as a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=parade.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Preferred Source by clicking here.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.aol.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On March 17, 2003, Justin Timberlake got Punk\u2019d. And the antics that literally brought the pop star to tears still deliver the laughs today, 23 years later. Featured on the debut episode of MTV&#8216;s hidden-camera series hosted by That &#8217;70s Show&#8216;s Ashton Kutcher, Timberlake shows up at his home in the Hollywood Hills to would-be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2353905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[456900,348792,314108,24509,456899],"class_list":["post-2353904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-anthony-davis","tag-ashton-kutcher","tag-dax-shepard","tag-justin-timberlake","tag-personal-belongings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Remembering-Justin-Timberlakes-Hilarious-2003-Punkd-Prank-That-Left-Him.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2353904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2353906,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353904\/revisions\/2353906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2353905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2353904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2353904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2353904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}