It sounded too good to be true: comedian Craig Rowin made a series of web videos asking for $1 million, and then he announced he had received it. A rich benefactor named “Benjamin” had seen the videos and was amused by them enough to hand over the cash. The videos went viral, Craig went on TV and international news teams were dispatching crews to cover his amazing story, which he maintained was completely real. Then at the end of the check-handing-over ceremony on Wednesday night, Rowin burned the check on stage and revealed it was all a hoax and the “investment banker millionaire” was an actor he had hired. Sorry, dreams.

Check-burning video:Here’s his final video where he explains why he did it. (“Because I thought it would be funny.”) It ends with a clip of him supposedly having a panic attack in his boxers when he realized that a lot of people were taking his prank seriously. Is it real? At this point, who knows, and who cares.Haha, you thought my barely-contained excitement was real? Haha, you rooted for me? Haha, you believed me? Now that it’s over, I’m not sure what the joke is.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for kindness of strangers over the internet stories, but there was a little rainbow in my heart that wanted this story to be true. And now that rainbow is dead. Thanks for killing my rainbow, Craig.

EXCLUSIVE Interview with Craig Rowin, the comedian who asked for $1 million on YouTube, and gotcha [The Comics Comic]
YouTube video: $1 million gift to Brooklyn comedian who begged for it was hoax [New York Daily News]

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