A nude prank that Chris Pratt once pulled on the set of Parks and Recreation wasn’t as well received as intended, one of the sitcom’s stars has confirmed.
Pratt, who recently welcomed his third child with partner Katherine Schwarzenegger and faced backlash for his statement on the US election, played lovable slacker Andy Dwyer on the show from 2009 until 2015, including a 2020 reunion special.
Jim O’Heir, who played Jerry Gergich on the sitcom, has penned a new book about his time on Parks and Recreation, which touches upon his relationships with other cast members including Amy Poehler, Rob Lowe, Aubrey Plaza and Pratt.
Recalling the incident with the Guardians of the Galaxy star, O’Heir told Decider: “Chris Pratt was doing the scene where he walks in, he’s trying to get Ann Perkins [Rashida Jones’ character] back, you know, Andy is trying to get Anne back.”
“So, Pratt did a bit where Amy [Poehler] opened the door and he’s just butt naked. It was hysterical. And we’re all adults. There was nothing sexual about it. It was just a funny bit.”
Although the joke appeared to go down well with the majority of the cast and crew, it appears that at least one person wasn’t happy about the prank.
O’Heir said that the joke “caused a big old stir” and when Pratt arrived on set the next day there were “lawyers at his trailer”.
Pratt previously spoke about the controversy when he appeared on The Graham Norton Show in 2015. “I was wearing skin-coloured underwear and I wasn’t getting quite the right reaction I was hoping for,” he explained.
The actor added: “It was late in the day so I decided to improvise and drop my trousers for the take... [Amy Poehler’s] reaction was great! It was the take they used!”
In the aftermath, Pratt says that he got a letter from NBC’s HR department telling him: “‘There is protocol about nude scenes. This is not a joke and you are being reprimanded and you can’t go around telling people about this like some kind of joke!’”
“I’ve framed the letter,” Pratt quipped.
Several of the show’s stars shared a reunion photograph in February 2023 to mark “Galentine’s Day”.
In the hit NBC sitcom, the celebration is held annually on the day before Valentine’s Day, having been conceived as an all-female get-together by Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler).
On Instagram, Rashida Jones and Aubrey Plaza – who played Ann Perkins and April Ludgate in Parks – shared an image of themselves alongside Poehler and Kathryn Hahn, who played political strategist Jen Barkley in the series.
