Zach Braff breaks silence over AI chatbot romance rumours
Zach Braff has been forced to address one of the more unusual rumours to circulate about a celebrity recently, that he is in a romantic relationship with an AI chatbot.
The Scrubs star, 50, took to Instagram Stories on Thursday evening to set the record straight, and his response was about as serious as you’d expect.
“I’m not dating a chatbot,” he 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 rumour appears to trace back to a December 2025 episode of the I Need You Guys podcast, hosted by comedians Max Silvestri, Jenny Slate and Gabe Liedman, which featured guest Kumail Nanjiani.
During the episode, Silvestri described a “well-known actor” who was allegedly in a romantic relationship with an AI chatbot, bringing it along to places and talking to it on his phone or computer.
He described the person as “as near A-list as TV can get you” and noted they had also done films.
Nanjiani pressed for details, asking whether the actor was self-aware about how strange the situation was.
Silvestri suggested there was some awareness, but of the defiant variety, more of a “yeah, sorry you’re not on board with the future” attitude than any genuine embarrassment.
The actor’s name was eventually texted to the group rather than said aloud.
Nanjiani’s reaction upon seeing it was that the “A-list” description was perhaps a stretch. Slate, for her part, tried to pump the brakes entirely, noting it wasn’t a story they should be putting out into the world.
Braff said he had been completely unaware of the podcast episode until recently, having no presence on TikTok where the clip had apparently been circulating.
He closed out his Instagram Stories with a simple plea for decency: “I feel like now is a good time to be kind to people.”
It’s a strange footnote in Braff’s personal life, which has otherwise kept a relatively low profile since his relationship with Florence Pugh ended in 2022.
