Letterman writer claimed host knew about Joaquin Phoenix hoax

Though he recently revealed that most of his Joaquin Phoenix-centric documentary I’m Still Here was fake, Casey Affleck has said that only he, Phoenix, and Phoenix’s agent were aware of the hoax. But an interview from last year with Late Show with David Letterman  writer Bill Scheft has resurfaced, and it claims otherwise. Said Scheft to the independent newspaper Nuvo, “Dave knew about it, and Dave loved it because he could play along…It was great television.”

Scheft also claimed he was met with backlash when he attempted to reveal that the events were staged. “I’ve told people that [everyone is in on the joke], and not only don’t people believe me, they tell me that I’m wrong and that [Phoenix] is a schizophrenic and he needs help and he’s going to end up like his brother [River, who died of a drug overdose in 1993]. I said no. I saw the segment notes. It’s an act. I saw Ben Affleck’s brother taping the whole thing from offstage.”