Moment Tucker Carlson ‘is duped’ into interviewing fake Kate Middleton whistleblower who claimed he’d been fired for photoshop blunder
Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson was duped in an interview with a British YouTuber posing as the person who botched the editing of Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day photo.
Archie Manners, one half of the duo Josh & Archie, falsely claimed he had been a digital content creator at Kensington Palace. Still, he got an interview with the former Fox News host.
‘We have done our best to verify that your identity is what you say it is, yYou’re not a fake Navalny or you’re not joking or anything,” Carlson said during the interview, referring to the Russian whistleblower.
However, after the interview – which did not air on Carlson’s X channel – Manners and fellow prankster Josh Pieters revealed the stunt, saying it was so the anchor’s followers wouldn’t be duped.
The joke comes as the debate over the infamous Mother’s Day photo of Kate and her children continues. The photo was released in the wake of her health problems, but was quickly identified as doctored, sparking new theories about her condition.
Prank YouTubers Archie Manners and Josh Pieters created an edited version of the infamous Kate Middleton Mother’s Day photo for an interview with Tucker Carlson
The joke comes as the debate over the infamous Mother’s Day photo of Kate and her children continues. The photo was released in the wake of her health problems, but was quickly identified as doctored when people pointed out several irregularities
Manners presented himself as a former ‘digital content creator’ for Kensington Palace, who was fired after the blunder
In an email to the Conservative pundit’s team, he claimed the Royals were ‘willing to lay off staff to hide the truth’
In an email to the former Fox News host’s team, Manners introduced himself as “George” and explained that he was behind the controversial photo.
‘I helped create the statue, at Wales’ request. Now that the image was found to be edited, I am about to be scapegoated and am in the process of letting go,” he wrote.
‘Normally I would be discreet in these matters, but I am all too aware of the Royal Family’s ability to throw people like me under the bus to protect their reputation.
“They are not telling the truth about the princess’s health and are now willing to fire staff to hide the truth.”
In a subsequent telephone conversation with one of Carlson’s staffers, Manners repeated the lie that he worked for Kensington Palace and was asked to edit the photo which was later recalled by numerous news agencies, causing him to lose his job.
The employee asked if Manners could provide proof of employment as well as the non-tampered photo.
After the call, Manner’s co-star Josh Pieters called and instructed him to draft a fake engagement letter and “make it crazy,” in addition to editing the already edited Mother’s Day photo.
Pieters drew up a realistic-looking employment contract, complete with a fake Kensington Palace badge.
The letter contained a clause stating that the palace had the right to amputate a limb of its choice if the employee failed to complete the probationary period.
To create the ‘original’ photo, Pieters added a Christmas tree in the window and a rugby ball on the ground, in addition to removing Middleton’s left hand in a recreated version of the ‘original photo’.
Manners forwarded the material to Carlson’s team before sitting down for an interview in a TV studio in Westminster.
Pieters edited a Christmas tree into the photo, which Manners said was taken around the holidays by Middleton’s uncle, Gary Goldsmith.
Manners claimed he had to cut out the Christmas tree for the final Mother’s Day release
During the interview, Carlson asked what Manners did for Kate Middleton.
‘Just before the coronation I was asked to help with some of their videography. I was then hired as their digital content producer in mid-May,” Manners said, adding that he served in this role until the morning before.
‘I was asked to edit a photo, a now quite famous photo, of the three Cambridge children and the Duchess, which was released to celebrate Mother’s Day.
“I was fired for negligence because the editing I did was found. The reason the editing was sloppy is because the editing job was almost too big to do.”
He then claimed that the photo was not taken a week earlier, but was taken by ‘Kate’s uncle’ Gary Goldsmith around Christmas, which meant he had to cut out the Christmas tree.
“It’s a great story,” Carlson replied. ‘You did this with their knowledge, you say. You took out the Christmas tree and removed a hand with their knowledge?’
Manners nodded affirmatively.
Pieters drew up a fake contract containing a clause about the Palace’s right to amputate limbs if an employee did not complete the probationary period
“We have done our best to verify that your identity is what you say it is,” Carlson said during the call
As the interview came to a close, Carlson praised the exchange as “great” and “very interesting.”
His staff later informed Manners that they would premiere the episode “early next week” on Carlson’s streaming service of the same name.
However, it is unclear whether it will still air in light of recent revelations.
Speaking to Deadline on Friday, Manners said he and Pieters decided to speak out because they didn’t want misinformation to be broadcast to Carlson’s 12.6 million followers on social media.
“We didn’t want any more rumors, which are not true, to go out to a lot of people,” Manners explained. “We just didn’t want to be too dignified about that in our video.”
Manners and Pieters have almost 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube. Previous antics include tricking Spiderman star Tom Holland during an interview and giving a fake award to columnist Katie Hopkins.
The Prince and Princess of Wales ‘want to be clear and more open’ about Kate’s health but will only share this with the public ‘when they feel ready’, a friend has claimed. Kate is pictured at last year’s Christmas Day church service at Sandringham, the last time she was seen in public before her operation
William and Kate were spotted leaving Windsor for Westminster Abbey last Monday to attend the Commonwealth Day Service following the controversy over her Mother’s Day photo
Kate has not made any official public appearances since undergoing major abdominal surgery on January 16, sparking a growing tsunami of speculation about her unknown health condition. She is not expected to resume her official duties until after Easter.
The rumors only intensified when the Princess publicly took the blame for the family photo released by Kensington Palace on Mother’s Day, which was ‘killed’ by six of the world’s top photo agencies amid concerns it had been ‘doctored’.
A source close to Kate and Prince William says the couple will release more information about her recovery in due course The Sunday timesreporting that her return is expected after April 17.
The friend argued that Kate “isn’t a show pony” and that it’s “absolutely right” that the couple doesn’t want to be “dragged into a game about what’s going on with her health.”
“In Kate’s case, there is hardly anyone else in the world whose face, body and clothes are judged more heavily than her,” the insider told The Sunday Times.
‘What’s happening is exactly what they said would happen: she would spend two weeks in hospital and come back after Easter. So what if they didn’t push her out to wave from the back of a car? She’s not a show pony.’
A friend said the Waleses are fully aware of the circulating rumours, but claimed: ‘They’re not like (Prince) Harry, obsessing and scrolling through Twitter, but they know it’s broken through. They follow the news and see the latest news alerts from the BBC.’