No, Ashton Kutcher's Car Did Not Break Down In Bucks County

A story making the rounds on Facebook about Ashton Kutcher having a friendly encounter in Bucks County after his car broke down here is, uh, dare we say it, fake news. Yes, the buzz word that now seems to be attached to any story that disputes someone's world view actually applies here in its intended meaning — as in it's utterly, truly false.

You may have seen the story we're referring to on social media. The headline is "What Ashton Kutcher Said About Bristol, Pennsylvania Residents," and it's posted by an ambiguous KBC 14 News.

The article, which does not have a date, says the famous Hollywood heartthrob took some time during an interview with an undisclosed radio station to give a shout out to Bristol after the rental car he was driving in broke down in town.

“We were just leaving Bristol, Pennsylvania when our car began to overheat so I pulled over to the side of the road and noticed there were a couple of cars pulling up behind me," the article falsely quotes Kutcher as saying. "They got out and asked if I needed any help and I told them that I was just about to call someone. Then one of them says that he has a brother who owns a tow truck and a few minutes later it showed up and they towed it in to get fixed."

The fake story then goes on to say the helpful passerby then offered to take him to lunch at "some place on Mill Street, I think it was" where he had "one hell of" a great sandwich.
It concludes with this fake quote:

"I’m telling you, these people in Bristol are the real deal. If I ever retire, I’m moving there!” Kutcher said with a laugh."

Sounds totally social media sharable, right? A famous Hollywood star is praising our hometown, and giving it much-deserved publicity.

There's one big problem with the story, aside from the fact that it's utterly made up: it's been duplicated again, and again, and again, and again by the mysterious KBC 14 fake news site. The various versions of the story use different celebrities and towns but offer essentially a carbon copy of the text.

For example, an article on that same page, also with no date, is titled "Samuel L. Jackson Says This About the Residents of Pottsville, Pennsylvania."

That story goes a little something like this:

“We were just leaving Pottsville, Pennsylvania when our rental car began to overheat so I pulled over to the side of the road and was just about to call the car company when I noticed there were a couple of cars pulling up behind me. They got out and asked if I needed any help and I told them that I was just about to call the rental car company. Then one of them says that he has a brother who owns a tow truck and a few minutes later it was there and they towed it in to get fixed."

Sound familiar?

That false story also includes Jackson having lunch (can you guess? It was "one hell of a great" sandwich, but this time at Fast Freddy's.)

The fake news site also has similar false reports of Matt Damon in Evanston, Wyoming, Bruce Willis in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Johnny Depp in Wheeling, West Virginia and Adam Sandler Said About Thunder Bay, Ontario Residents.

Each story is essentially the same, except for the name and the location where said celebrity got "one hell of a sandwich."

So there you have it, folks. The people of Bucks County are friendly, but that's not coming from Ashton Kutcher.

Here's a screenshot of KBC 14 News:

PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons, David Shankbone