MTV is one of those networks that makes a concerted effort to be edgy. There’s something fundamentally wrong about that, isn’t there? The more you try to be edgy, the less edgy you are. It’s a basic mathematical principle.

Apparently ignorant of this fact, at the recent MTV Movie Awards, some of the writers decided it would be funny if Seth Rogen and James Franco, the stars of upcoming stoner comedy Pineapple Express, walked out with a bag of fake weed. They were presenting the category “Best Summer Movie So Far,” joking that “only stoners like them” would be asked to present such an odd award. They then produced a bag of fake weed and lit up a fake joint, making sure to use the word “fake” in their monologue so the LAPD wouldn’t pounce.

The story becomes confusing at this point. (This is the AP story, too - I can’t imagine how much more convoluted it could get after being passed through other sources.) In true T.V. detective form, I’ll now attempt to lay out the facts of the case so we can make sense of this mess.

1. MTV writers wrote the joke, providing the fake weed.

2. At some point, before Rogen and Franco went onstage, MTV representatives told them not to do the joke after all.

3. As soon as the “weed” appeared on camera, the cameraman panned out far enough so that it couldn’t be identified.

4. Rogen and Franco feel that this “ruined the joke.”

Exactly who wrote the joke, whether or not they okayed it with those who had the authority to do so, and who ultimately decided to revoke the permission - none of that is clear. And thanks to the A.P., we have a few confusing details thrown in, such as:

“Kids, don’t really smoke fake weed like this,” Rogen told the crowd at the Gibson Amphitheatre, with a degree of sarcasm to suggest that the only fake thing was the idea that it was fake.

Forgive me if I don’t trust an AP writer’s interpretation, but I decided to see if I could hunt down the footage and see for myself what was going on.

The only version I could find was extremely low quality and difficult to hear, but it’s pretty obvious that they’re implying the weed is real - and that’s the joke. It’s obviously not, or they would have been dragged offstage before they finished their presentation.

Personally, I think it’s pretty sad that MTV decided to rescind on what is, in fact, a very funny joke. And if seeing a baggie of oregano onstage offends people, then they have serious problems. I’m not one of the “weed’s just a plant, man!” crowd (hey, so’s deadly nightshade, and I don’t see you smoking that) but it shouldn’t be any more of a taboo than alcohol or cigarettes.

(Pineapple Express, Judd Apatow’s newest comedy, comes out on August 8th.)

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