David Hasselhoff claims to have officially changed his name, telling fans it was a "massive relief". The former Baywatch star, who is known as "The Hoff", filmed a YouTube video to explain his decision and reveal that he had been wanting to make the change for years.
"I've been wanting to drop the Hassel from my life for years. Now I have made it official," David said, before showing official documents with his new name – David Hoff.
David Hasselhoff claims to have changed his name
The 63-year-old has already changed his name on social media, and tweeted to say it "feels great" to share the news.
"Big news today and a massive relief for me. I hope everyone can understand… it feels great!" David tweeted.
While David seemed serious about the name change, many fans have questioned if it is a prank. "Is this for real?" asked one, while another wrote: "Wow this is serious and isn't an April Fools joke? Big change."
It appears they were right to have been suspicious, after a rep for the actor confirmed to Us Weekly that he is not really changing his name.
"It's an excerpt from an ad campaign that launches in Australia this weekend," the rep explained. "David is just having some fun and more will be revealed in the next 24 hours."
It is not surprising David hasn't really changed his name; the actor has built up a successful career over the last 30 years using his surname, with roles in Knight Rider and Baywatch as well as taking on judging roles on both America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent.
Early-90s drama Baywatch became such a cult classic after David invested in it as an executive producer, it is now being remade as a movie starring Zac Efron. However the father-of-two has said he is worried about the remake being a "joke" and hopes it remains true to the original storyline.
"I might do Baywatch the musical or something like that," David said. "Make it something close to what it was. They laughed at it but they still loved it. I don't want it to be a joke."