[There was a video here]

Dumb Starbucks, the weird "art gallery" that's been dispensing free cups of coffee and grocery store pastries to thousands since Friday, has been revealed as nothing more than a stunt by Nathan Fielder for his Comedy Central show Nathan for You.

The joke was revealed at a press conference Monday afternoon. Every major media outlet in Los Angeles—including reporters for international news stations—gathered in the parking lot where they were greeted by Fielder, who approached the microphones wearing a green "Dumb Starbucks" apron.

Fielder told the crowd that while running the business has been hard, he looks forward to opening a "second location" in Brooklyn within the next two weeks. He also claimed that because Dumb Starbucks is technically an "art gallery" and not a restaurant, he has been able to operate without permits. Of the potential legal issues surrounding the name of the gallery, Fielder said Starbucks has not contacted him personally with any problems.

As for whether or not Comedy Central was aware of the stunt, Fielder said they "didn't know we were putting it up" but that they're probably aware of it "now."

The crowd of journalists, some of whom expressed deep belief that Banksy or Jimmy Kimmel or a "private coffee collective" would walk out the doors, seemed mostly confused. "So is this for your show?" a reporter asked toward the end of the conference. Another man who had no idea what the fuck was happening asked Fielder, "What is your name on Twitter?"

When the conference was almost over, a reporter tried to take her microphone away so she could leave early. Fielder wasn't having any of that:

[There was a video here]

The event ended with Fielder telling the group the health department had arrived and said he could no longer serve coffee. He also announced he had to pee and that he was done.

Here is the official advertisement for the "business":

UPDATE: Dumb Starbucks (which is not located in Silver Lake no matter what Dumb ABC7 Eyewitnesses News claims) has been shut down by the Health Department.