Vietnam’s ‘Punk’d’ fools an actor – and the public
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Báo Tuổi Trẻ English
- 11 month(s) ago
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A new TV show is off to a rocky start after its fake run-in between police and an actor ignited real-life rumors the celebrity was trafficking drugs.
Actor Quyen Linh (L) was stopped by police who accused him of carrying drug Photo: Capture from the clip
Producers of the show, which has yet to air, set up actor Quyen Linh by sneaking drugs into the trunk of his car to see how he handled the police reaction.
While law enforcement were in on the stunt, passersby were not. An amateur clip went viral Wednesday, featuring the mock crime that viewers mistook for an actual one.
“It was a simulated scene where I was accused of carrying drugs in my car and had to prove my innocence to police,” Quyen Linh told Tuoi Tre at his house in Ho Chi Minh City’s Nha Be District.
The TV series, for Vietnamese Police channel ANTV, stages crimes that force celebrities into confrontations with police. The clash with Linh, who is most famous for hosting Vietnam’s Got Talent took place Monday in District 2.
Linh said he watched the video online and couldn’t believe how far the gossip had drifted from reality.
“Several bystanders used their phones to film, so probably one of them posted the clip online,” he said.
City police Col. Nguyen Hoang Tuan confirmed that Linh was not arrested, and that the scene was just for “one of his movies.”