Balloon Boy’s Father Returns, Cries, and Maintains ‘It Was Never a Hoax’

Balloon Boy's Father Cries, Maintains "It Was Never a Hoax" (Gawker)

Richard Heene and his clan of fame chasers appeared on Friday's episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now? He thinks he and his family are known best for the two episodes of Wife Swap that they appeared on, but like much of what came out of his mouth during this bizarre interview, that's bullshit.

Richard Heene is best known as the father of "Balloon Boy" aka Falcon Heene, who almost five years ago, was believed to be stuck in a runaway hot-air balloon that looked like a flying saucer. It was national news. The reason this was believed is Richard and his wife, Mayumi, told as much to the police. It turned out to be false (Falcon was hiding in the attic the whole time), and Richard and Mayumi pleaded guilty to charges of a felony account of attempting to influence a public service and a misdemeanor of false reporting, respectively. Richard said in the newly taped interview that they pleaded guilty to take "the easy way out."