UPDATE, 6:25 p.m.: David Hasselhoff‘s spokeswoman assures us that the name change is an excerpt from an ad campaign that launches in Australia this weekend, and that the former “Baywatch” star is “just having some fun.”
Whew, close one! Out of the bunker, everybody…
Previously…
Say goodbye to David Hasselhoff — and say hello to David Hoff. We think.
The former “Baywatch” star dropped a bombshell on Thursday, claiming to have shortened his name to the much zippier David Hoff.
“Big news today and a massive relief for me,” the actor wrote on his Twitter account. “I hope everyone can understand… it feels great!”
He included a link to a video in which he declared, “I’ve been wanting to drop the ‘Hassel’ from my life for years. Now, I have made it official. David Hoff.”
The video concludes with the 63-year-old actor holding up a certificate of name change bearing the new moniker, which he surely didn’t forge with his computer and inkjet printer in his abundant free time.
It’s unclear if the video was made in earnest, or whether it’s a stunt that the actor cooked up to keep his name in the headlines.
Or maybe it’s an ill-considered decision made during another cheeseburger binge.
The first step in a Caitlyn Jenner-esque transformation, perhaps?
TheWrap hasn’t been able to turn up any court papers indicating that this is, in fact, a legal name change.
In the meantime, until the smoke has cleared, we’ll continue to refer to the actor as we usually do: That Guy Who Used to Drive Around in a Talking Car and Now Resorts to Appearing in Low-Rent Projects Like “Sharknado 3.”