In what's likely more indicative of a legal threat and a slow news day than a dedication to accuracy, Page Six admits today that an alleged sex tape featuring the fiancée of Gregg "Opie" Hughes (of radio's Opie and Anthony) and MTV's Bam Margera does not, in fact, exist. Steppin' Out magazine's Chaunce Hayden is assigned the blame for providing the Post with bogus info. He was quoted in the April 23 Page Six item as saying of the couple, "They're doing the nasty—and I mean nasty," but Hayden tells Radar that was a quote he relayed from his source. Hayden didn't even think the story held up to Steppin' Out standards. It was a two-year-old rumor that ex staffers were buzzing about, Hayden tells Radar, but "because I couldn't get a comment from Opie or Bam, at deadline I didn't feel comfortable running the story until I heard their side of the story." Page Six, apparently, had no such reservations. On May 1, Hayden gave his side of the scandal in Steppin' Out—after Page Six did its bit.
The legend of the Opie's Fiancée Sex Tape is the third bogus tape to make the rounds—joining reels from Marilyn Monroe and Jimi Hendrix—and assures us not only that Hughes and his wife will have a long and loving marriage after all but that fake sex tapes are the new hotness in guerrilla marketing.