That viral video featuring WWE wrestler Lacey Evans and an Alberta RCMP officer was not as spontaneous as it looked, the force admitted Monday.
The video, which made the rounds on social media over the weekend, showed Evans getting stopped for a speeding ticket and tearing into the Leduc County Mountie.
His response — “Welcome to Edmonton” — was heralded as a bastion of Canadian politeness.
In a statement, the Alberta RCMP noted that it was true Evans was stopped and received the ticket. But the outburst? The “do you know who I am?” The warm welcome to the Prairies? Yeah, that was all fake.
The force said that after the ticket was issued, Evans identified herself as a “sports entertainer” with the WWE and “engaged in a courteous and polite conversation with the member.”
“She asked the member if he would participate in a rehearsed interaction on camera with her WWE persona. The member obliged,” continued the police statement in super conversational language.
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Professional wrestling is all about staged big personalities, feuds and personas. (Have you seen the Netflix show GLOW?!) Apparently that extends to traffic stops too.
The RCMP had previously confirmed to HuffPost that it was a legitimate traffic stop but would not comment further.
Evans, who embodies a “sassy Southern belle” persona, hinted at the video’s manufactured nature in a statement of her own earlier Monday, when she urged fans to respect law enforcement. The wrestler herself has been a U.S. Marine and served with the military police, according to the WWE.
“The video was created by both parties to promote the local live event,” she wrote on Twitter. “I’m glad you all were entertained, but if you ever try to honestly disrespect or put my brothers or sisters in blue in harm … I hope you get what you asked for.”
Evans was in town for a local WWE Live! show.