The 'Always Sunny in Philadelphia' stars reveal the hilarious prank that led to a sizable donation to Autism research.
Kaitlin Olson is the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind jacket and -- more importantly -- pulled off an epic prank against her husband, Rob McElhenney, in the process.
It all started when Kylie Kelce, the wife of Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, offered up for auction a signed Eagles letterman jacket inspired by the one Princess Diana famously wore in the '90s. With the proceeds set to benefit the Eagles Autism Foundation, longtime Birds fan McElhenney jumped at the opportunity to place a bid for $10,000. In the days that followed, the star found himself fully engaged in a heated bidding war with a mystery buyer until the item officially sold for $100,000 on Black Friday.
On Wednesday's episode of Jason's New Heights podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, McElhenney joined the show to explain the entire ordeal.
"They were having issues 'cause I was smashing the button as hard as I could," the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator said, explaining why the auction's website crashed at one point during the exchange.
"I couldn't believe that somebody was immediately jumping on every time I bid, and so my final bid was going to be representing my favorite player on the Eagles, 62," McElhenney shared. His final publicly recorded bid for the jacket was for $62,000 -- a nod to Jason's number. "I thought that was a good number, I thought that was a number that would resonate in the hearts and minds of Birds fans all over the world. And, again, was for a foundation that we feel really strongly about, that we love and believe in. Holiday season coming up, it seemed like the right thing to do."
At this point, the competing bidder revealed her identity to him in a cheeky message.
"I got a text from somebody that I know who said, 'I've been the one bidding against you, bozo,'" he recalled. "And it did not even cross my mind that this was a possibility, and it turned out that I live with this person."
Olson then joined the interview, prompting big laughs from both Jason and Travis.
"This moron," she roasted her husband, noting that the jacket he was trying to buy was "clearly for women."
"Also, hi, we share a bank account," she continued. "Maybe just fill me in. I'm 100 percent on board, but what are you doing?"
Olson hilariously laid it on thick, saying she only found out about McElhenney's initial bid after seeing Jason post about it on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"I was like, 'No, no, no. I'll be crashing the site," she joked.
After letting McElhenney in on the gag, Olson then pitched the idea of bidding $87,000 in a subtle reference to Travis' number on the Chiefs. It was a non-starter for the longtime Eagles fan, and the couple settled on an even $100,000 donation for a cause close to their hearts. Jason explained that "every dollar" would go to autism related research.
"We just truly believe in this organization," McElhenney gushed. "It's something we really feely strongly about."
As for who will get primary ownership over the garment, there's no question about it.
"I won the jacket, for sure," Olson declared. "He will not be wearing the jacket, ever."
Earlier this year, McElhenney opened up about his own diagnosis of "neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities."
"I was recently diagnosed with a host of neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities! At 46!" he wrote.
"It’s not something I would normally talk about publicly but I figured there are others who struggle with similar things," he continued. "I wanted to remind you that you’re not alone. You’re not stupid. You’re not 'bad.' It might feel that way sometimes. But it’s not true :)."
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