Lovers' quarrel played out in public -- or hoax?

NEW YORK Jeff Ragsdale attracted media attention this week after he planted himself in a New York City park with a sign that said, "I was verbally abusive. I'm sorry, Megan."

He told The New York Times he was trying to make up with his 29-year-old girlfriend, Megan Brady. Brady then told the newspaper she was touched by his willingness to humiliate himself.

But the newspaper said on its City Room blog Saturday that it was investigating whether the story was fake, saying, "There is considerable evidence this is a hoax."

Ragsdale and Brady are both actors, and Ragsdale's MySpace page contains video of him appearing in persona on a number of news programs.

In phone interviews Saturday with The Associated Press, both actors insisted they were telling the truth.