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Alison Sweeney on Ellen: "It Was A Joke"

Viewers around the country — including Alison Sweeney‘s (Sami) mother — thought the actress, who is due with baby No. 2 next month, went into labor yesterday during a segment on ELLEN. Here, Sweeney tells Digest what really happened: “I was a guest on ELLEN and they asked me if I would help them play a practical joke. I have learned since then that when they reveal the 12 days of [Christmas] giveaways, they try and set up a stunt that ends up being cut off or not happening because a bell rings and then out comes a dancing character and Ellen gives away these amazing gifts to the audience. So, they asked me if I would start to feel labor pains and asked me to do it coming out of the commercial break. Ellen asked me specifically to sprawl out as much as I could because she had to leap over me, so I did the best I could. I touched my stomach and Ellen was like, ‘That’s good,’ then she started looking around all concerned and it went really well. She jumped over me as I was pretending to do labor breathing and announced the giveaway. I stood up and immediately started clapping and cheering and made it clear to the studio audience that it was a joke and I was okay, but I guess the cameraperson didn’t cut back to me, so you never saw me again, so the at-home audience never got let off the hook. But I didn’t even think twice about it. We shot it on Wednesday and it aired Thursday. Then, I’m in the middle of a meeting on Thursday afternoon and I got a call from my mom, but I didn’t pick up because I was in a meeting. Then my dad called me 911 and I called him back and he was all concerned and said, ‘Your mother is searching for the hospital you’re in. Are you okay?’ And that was the first I heard of it; I didn’t know there was an issue. My mom really got fooled and I said to her, ‘Mom, you’re pretty much one of the first calls we’d make if I was going to the hospital.’ I think it’s funny that a lot of gossip sites reported that I was actually in the hospital.”

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