On Wednesday night, US Olympic luger Kate Hansen tweeted a now-viral video showing a wolf wandering the halls of her Sochi dormitory. But the real big, bad wolf behind it all was late-night TV host and consummate prankster Jimmy Kimmel.
Yes, the man behind last year's fire twerker clip did it again, and he was only too happy to reveal the details behind it all on Thursday's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
"Here's the thing: That was not a Russian wolf. That was an American wolf," Kimmel told viewers. "And I know this because the wolf is backstage right now. We shot the video, and Kate Hansen posted it for us from her account — and a media frenzy was born."
That's when Kimmel cut to numerous news anchors reacting to the clip and debating about whether the furry interloper was really a wolf or just a dog ... including TODAY's own Willie Geist.
"Yesterday we were had by the great Jimmy Kimmel," Geist admitted on TODAY Friday morning. "In fairness, we called Kate yesterday, before the show, and asked her about this. She said, 'It was me.' She said, 'I thought it was a dog, and it might have been a wolf.' She said, 'It was sketchy either way.' She confirmed the story."
Which prompted Matt Lauer to joke, "So she's sketchy either way!"
No doubt everyone can agree that the sketchiest of all in this situation is Kimmel, who offered viewers another chance to view the video — the "whole thing" this time.
In the full version, after the wolf made its way past the fake dorm door, a ski suit-clad Kimmel shuffled down the hall calling after his prank pet, "Garfield!"
Hansen joined Kimmel via Skype and said "there was a little more backlash" than she expected back at the Olympic Village, but she added, "It was all worth it in the end."
In fact, even one Olympic official got a chuckle out of it.
"It made me kind of laugh as an individual, not as an IOC spokesman," the International Olympic Committee's Mark Adams told The Associated Press. "I don't think there's any harm done."