NEED TO KNOW
Zach Braff denied rumors he was the “prominent Hollywood actor dating a chatbot” as mentioned in an episode of the I Need You Guys podcast
Braff denied the speculation in a series of Instagram Stories shared on Thursday, March 12, featuring screenshots from the podcast episode
“I feel like now is a good time to be kind to people,” Braff wrote after shutting down the rumors
Zach Braff is addressing rumors that he is in a relationship with an AI chatbot.
In a string of Instagram Stories shared on the evening of Thursday, March 12, the Scrubs star, 50, penned a response that appears to be connected to a December 16, 2025, episode of the I Need You Guys podcast.
“I’m not dating a chatbot,” Braff wrote. “I can’t believe I have to type these words. It is a storyline in an upcoming ep of Scrubs. Maybe it came from that? Not sure. But not me. Love, The guy not dating his chatbot. Please update all gossip sites.”
The actor shared the statement alongside screenshots from the podcast, hosted by comedians Max Silvestri, Jenny Slate, and Gabe Liedman. The group vaguely discussed “a prominent Hollywood actor dating a chatbot” during a December 2025 episode of I Need You Guys, which featured guest Kumail Nanjiani.
“There’s a well-known actor who is currently in a romantic relationship with his AI chatbot,” Silvestri, 43, said on the podcast. “And [he] brings the chatbot with him places and talks to the chatbot. I think on the phone or computer or whatever.”
“How well known is this actor?” Nanjiani, 47, asked.
“Very. As near A-list as TV can get you,” Silvestri said in the episode. “This person’s also done films.”
“Is he self-aware about how f—ing weird it is, or he thinks it’s okay?” Nanjiani asked.
“From my understanding, the little bit I’ve heard, is that there is a self-awareness, but in kind of like a, ‘Yeah, sorry you’re not on board with the future’ [way],” Silvestri chimed in.
Later in the episode, Silvestri texted the name of the actor in the alleged relationship to a group chat of the podcast hosts and Nanjiani.
Zach Braff shuts down rumors of a relationship with an AI chatbot
Credit: Zach Braff/Instagram
“Perfect! I will say, good description, not A-list,” Nanjiani said in response to receiving the text.
Slate, 43, chimed in to seemingly discourage the conversation. “We can’t put this on our podcast. It’s not nice,” Slate said.
“Also I had no idea until tonight (because I’m not on TikTok) that these folks were the origin of this?” Braff wrote along with more screenshots from the podcast.
Zach Braff denies AI chatbot rumors Pictured: Jenny Slate
Credit: Zach Braff/Instagram
“I feel like now is a good time to be kind to people,” Braff added on the next slide.
Zach Braff denies AI chatbot rumors Pictured: Kumail Nanjiani
Credit: Zach Braff/Instagram
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“Have never mentioned this man’s name in my life,” Silvestri wrote in response to Braff’s Instagram Stories posts on his own Instagram Stories on Friday, March 13. “Aren’t there more important stories in the world right now? Between tariffs and energy prices, the average American can barely afford to charge their girlfriend.”
Braff was most recently in a relationship with Florence Pugh from 2019 to 2022, and was spotted grabbing dinner with her family in 2023.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source nz.news.yahoo.com ’
