Kieran Culkin has confessed. The star of “A Real Pain” and “Succession” admitted that he once swapped a prop joint for one spiked with real marijuana when he was cast in a stage production alongside Mark Ruffalo in 2000.

“I was 17 and stupid,” Culkin said in a new interview with The Guardian. “I’m like, ‘I thought this was a good prank. I’m stupid. Oh my God, I’m so sorry.’ But actually, they loved it. Mark says, ‘I haven’t smoked pot in 10 years. The second half’s going to be so much fun.’ There was this other actor who had never smoked pot in her life. She goes, ‘Is this what being high is? This is lovely.’ And then Phyllis Newman comes in and goes, ‘I haven’t smoked pot since the 1960s. Thank you, darling.’”

Culkin, Ruffalo and their co-stars were featured in Playwright Horizons’ production of James Lapine’s play “The Moment When” at the time.

“The stage manager comes stomping in and goes, ‘I don’t care whose it is, or what happened, but Kieran, give me the joint.’ I sheepishly handed her the roach and she said, ‘Ruin your life on your own time,’” Culkin continued. “I know, I know. But I was young. I’m 42 now. I know better. I’m not going to try to get anyone high on stage.”

For Ruffalo’s part, the actor had previously alluded to the incident in an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. Ruffalo kept Culkin’s identity a secret though.

“There was a play that I did where I smoked a joint in the first scene. Of course, there was a very naughty young actor I was in the play with. On the opening night with all the critics, we slipped a real joint onto the prop table,” Ruffalo said at the time. “Between the two of us, we smoked a giant blunt onstage. … But at the end of the play, I got the best reviews of my entire career. But I’d never do that again.”

Culkin is currently making the rounds to promote co-star and director Jesse Eisenberg’s road comedy “A Real Pain.” Culkin is nominated for a Golden Globe in the supporting actor category for his role in the film.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday fended off an arrest attempt Friday after a hourslong standoff between investigators with the country’s anti-corruption agency and presidential security. 

Investigators left the president’s official residence after the presidential security service blocked them from entering for nearly six hours due to concerns about their safety. 

The agency expressed “serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law.”

Yoon, who was impeached last month over his short-lived martial law declaration, has defied investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks. He has not left the residence since Dec. 12, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, vowing to fight efforts to oust him.

ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOR IMPEACHED SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT AS POLITICAL CRISIS DEEPENS

Apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3 and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly. 

Parliament overturned the declaration within hours in a unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion. Anti-corruption authorities and public prosecutors, meanwhile, have opened separate investigations. 

A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday, but enforcing it is complicated as long as he remains in his official residence.

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials arrive at the gate of the presidential residence as supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

COURT ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR SOUTH KOREA’S PRESIDENT YOON

Yoon’s lawyers, who filed a challenge to the warrant on Thursday, say it cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge.

The office said it will discuss further actions, but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The warrant for his detention is valid for one week.

If investigators manage to detain Yoon, they will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025.  (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Thousands of police officers gathered at Yoon’s residence on Friday, forming a perimeter around a growing group of pro-Yoon protesters who braved subfreezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags while chanting slogans in his support. 

There were no immediate reports of major clashes outside the residence.

Nearly five hours after dozens of investigators and police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for Yoon’s detention, the dramatic scene appeared to have developed into a standoff. Two of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoon Kap-keun and Kim Hong-il, were seen entering the gate of the presidential residence around noon.

It wasn’t clear whether investigators successfully entered Yoon’s residential building, but South Korea’s YTN television reported scuffles as investigators and police confronted the presidential security forces.

Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14. Yoon’s fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. At least six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favor of removing him from office.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Inspections on 101 Boeing jets operated by country’s airlines extended to January 10 following the deadly plane crash.

Inspections of all 101 Boeing 737-800 jets operated by South Korea’s airlines have been extended for another week, the transport ministry said, as authorities began lifting the wreckage of the Jeju Air plane following the country’s worst aviation disaster.

The inspections of the Boeing jets were supposed to be completed on Friday but were extended to January 10 for additional checks, such as whether airlines spent enough time carrying out maintenance and secured parts for repairs, a ministry official told reporters on Friday.

A total of 179 people were killed on Sunday after Jeju Air Flight 2216 from Thailand to South Korea skidded and crashed while trying to land at Muan International Airport southwest of the capital, Seoul. Only two people survived the incident.

The exact cause of the crash is still unknown, but investigators have pointed to a bird strike, faulty landing gear and an installation at the end of the runway that the plane struck as possible issues.

The transport ministry said it would look at engines, maintenance records and landing gear on all 737-800s, adding that an airline’s operations could be suspended if serious violations are found.

The plane’s engines are produced under General Electric’s joint venture with the French aerospace company, Safran. GE is also joining the inspections.

The Jeju Air crash adds to headaches faced by Boeing as the company battles to restore trust with customers following two fatal 737 MAX crashes, a mid-air panel blowout, and a seven-week strike.

The transport ministry also held an emergency meeting with the chief executives of 11 airlines, including Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines, to discuss measures to enhance aviation safety.

South Korea’s investigation team said on Friday two of its members would leave for the United States next week to analyse the flight data recorder of the crash in cooperation with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The team is also studying the plane wreckage and interviewing airport control tower officials.

On Friday, investigators began lifting the wreckage of the ill-fated plane, including what appeared to be an engine, using a large yellow crane.

Na Won-ho, South Jeolla provincial police’s head of investigations, told a news conference at Muan International Airport, that authorities expect that more human remains may be found from the section of the plane being recovered.

“For all that to be complete and to have the results, we must wait until tomorrow.”

Investigators will also analyse data on 107 mobile phones recovered from the crash site, including text messages, for clues on what happened leading up to the crash, Yonhap News said.

South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok on Friday urged investigators to work swiftly to collect evidence from the crash scene and analyse a voice recorder.

Unanswered questions include why the aircraft did not deploy its landing gear and what led the pilot to apparently rush into a second attempt at landing after telling air traffic control the plane had suffered a bird strike and declaring an emergency.