Gossip (The Office)

As the three summer interns prepare to depart, Michael Scott hears from various members of the office that two of the interns might be dating, and feels upset that he was left out of the gossip. He talks about the situation with the third intern, and learns that the interns had recently gone out to a young people's club, where they saw Stanley Hudson dancing with a woman, presumably his wife Teri.

Michael, wanting to start some gossip of his own, forms the conclusion that Stanley was out because he was having a mid-life crisis and shares it with the office, but Phyllis Vance claims Stanley does not like crowds and that Teri is out of town. When Michael confronts the interns about this, they insist they saw Stanley there "making out" with a woman. Now realizing that Stanley is possibly having an affair and he is the first person to learn of it, Michael starts telling the employees. Jim Halpert urges Michael to stop spreading a rumor that he does not know for certain to be true. When Stanley is leaving, Michael heads to the parking lot to discuss the rumor with him. Stanley initially denies it, but when Michael mentions that he was spotted in the club by the interns, he reveals that since Teri has been out of town constantly, he has been seeking company from a nurse named Cynthia, whom he met in rehab. Stanley urges Michael not to say anything since he is breaking it off with Cynthia, and Michael agrees, despite having already told the entire office.

Hoping to obscure the truth about Stanley's affair, Michael starts spreading a variety of false rumors, among them that there is another person physically inside Kevin Malone, that Kelly is anorexic, that Creed Bratton has asthma, that Toby Flenderson is still a virgin (despite him having a daughter), that Pam Beesly is pregnant (unaware it is true), and that Andy is gay. When Andy hears about this, he realizes that many people have thought this about him in the past and gets increasingly insecure as he begins to question his sexual orientation. Jim and Pam, who were trying to keep Pam's pregnancy a secret, think they have been found out. The couple then notice that there have been various absurd rumors about office employees being spread. When Jim brings it to everyone's attention, they trace one particular rumor back to Michael, who then tries to slip out of the office.

The employees pursue Michael, and he confesses that he created the rumors to conceal the one true rumor. Andy fears that it might be the one about him. The employees urge Michael to tell them which one is true, but just as Michael is about to give in, Jim announces that Pam is actually pregnant to save Stanley. Michael denies it, but Pam shows her baby's ultrasound picture to prove it.

Later, while Michael discusses her pregnancy with Jim and Pam in his office, Stanley's wife Teri returns Michael's call from earlier. He picks up the phone with the intention of making an excuse for his earlier call so as to not tip her off, but he accidentally calls her Cynthia twice before Jim hangs up the phone for him. Teri had already been suspicious of Stanley and Cynthia, so Michael calling her Cynthia is enough for her to figure out what is going on. Michael, feeling guilty, watches from his office window as Stanley attacks Michael's car with a tire iron in a fit of rage.

"Gossip" was written and directed by Paul Lieberstein, a producer and screenwriter for the series who also plays Toby. The episode confirmed the fact that Pam was pregnant, which was strongly hinted in the fifth season finale, "Company Picnic".^[1] "Gossip" was the first episode to feature Ellie Kemper as a full cast member; she had guest starred in several episodes at the end of the fifth season as receptionist Erin Hannon.^[2] It was also the first episode of The Office to air since the release of the Ed Helms comedy film The Hangover.^[2][3] The film was a surprise box office success, grossing more than twice the amount of The 40-Year Old Virgin, which established Steve Carell as a comedy movie star.^[3][4][5] Commentators were split on what the success would mean for The Office, with some believing it would allow the show's writers to better realize his potential and write better material for Helms,^[2][3] and others expressing concern Helms would not be as dedicated to the Andy Bernard role.^[6]

The official website for The Office included three cut scenes from "Gossip" within a week of its original release. In the first 40-second clip, Dwight has the interns pass hand-written notes to officemates, while Ryan orders them to search thousands of pennies for rare coins.^[7] In the second clip, which is one minute and 10 seconds, Dwight has the interns pick up their own cake, but chastises them for not picking up candles.^[8] In the final two-minute clip, Dwight makes the interns memorize trivial bits of information, then tells them what he believes are inspirational stories.^[9]

During the episode's cold open, Michael, Dwight, and Andy run throughout the office climbing on desks, jumping off chairs and pushing themselves off objects. The actions are their attempts to engage in parkour, the art of moving from point A to point B as creatively as possible, which Jim describes as "the Internet sensation of 2004".^[6] Jim points out parkour was used in a chase scene in the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale.^[10]

Pam says the Dunder Mifflin office previously did not have interns for years because Michael kept making jokes about Monica Lewinsky, an intern at the White House who had a sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton in 1995 and 1996.^[2] Michael discusses the 1960 movie Spartacus, which he calls a great "whodunit" due to the ending, in which dozens of people claim to be the real Spartacus in order to protect the actual title character.^[10]

While trying to figure out whether he is gay, Andy says he would reluctantly accept a kiss from movie star Brad Pitt.^[2] The three summer interns say Michael constantly says they look like actors Jet Li, Julia Stiles and Alan Thicke.^[3] Michael spreads a rumor that Oscar is the voice of the Taco Bell dog, a chihuahua used as an advertising character in the 1990s and 2000s for the restaurant chain Taco Bell.^[2] Michael also claims Angela is dating a billionaire who manages a Quiznos, a fast-food submarine sandwich restaurant.^[11] Michael starts a rumor that someone in the office is a J.Crew model, originally referring to himself, although everyone believes it to be Jim. J.Crew is an American clothing and accessories retailer.^[12]