Despite what you may have heard, David Alan Grier is not the new Colonel Sanders

Actor David Alan Grier tweeted Thursday morning that he had been cast as KFC's first-ever African American Colonel Sanders -- an announcement that would have been a big moment for the fast food brand were it true.

Given the absurdity of KFC's revolving door of mascots -- first Darrell Hammond, then Norm Macdonald and most recently Jim Gaffigan -- the move seemed believable enough, and many outlets reported it as fact. 

Grier added fuel to the fire by retweeting many of their articles.

The only problem? Grier's supposed employer apparently didn't know anything about its new casting direction.

"There is no new Colonel Sanders," KFC's chief marketing officer, Kevin Hochman, said in a statement the same afternoon.

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The brand played a good sport nonetheless, responding to Grier's tweet and adding in a statement that it is "a big fan" of the In Loving Color star.

"We are very excited to learn that Mr. Grier is such a big fan of KFC and The Colonel," Hochman said. "We're a big fan of him as well. We hope to continue the conversation with him over a $5 Fill Up.”

So was the tweet just a joke or an intentional troll on Grier's part? Perhaps his Twitter bio, in which he describes himself as a "teller of tall tales," holds a clue.

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