Will Forte Regrets Faking His Death at 14: ‘It Was the Worst’

Comedian and actor Will Forte recently opened up about a prank he pulled on his mother when he was 14 that he instantly regretted, and it taught him a valuable lesson.

How did Will Forte fake his death?

During a recent appearance on Hot Ones, host Sean Evans asked what the best prank he ever pulled on his parents was. While Forte couldn’t decide on one, he did know immediately what the worst one was.

“I have an awful one. Ugh. I’m not even going to tell it,” said Forte, before he eventually opened up about it. “It’s awful. It’s horrible. You’ll see why. Please feel free to cut this out. I saw my mom driving in the neighborhood and I was like, ‘Oh, this’ll be funny.’ I wrote on a piece of paper, I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry, Mom.’ And then left that at the front door and then laid down on her bathroom floor as if I was no longer alive.”

Forte went on to say that the prank was fairly convincing, as his mother truly believed Forte had killed himself. The Saturday Night Live alum then said it was “the worst thing” hearing her reaction, and that it did teach him that not everything he does is funny.

“It did teach me, like, ‘Oh, not everything is funny. There are things that hurt people,’” Forte said. “And, you know, I certainly look back at my own work and there are regrets I have, but I don’t love comedy that hurts people or makes fun of people.”