HBO put out an advertisement in the back of the Village Voice that Abel couldn't resist responding to. It was a casting call for men willing to discuss their genitalia on camera for a documentary called Private Dicks.

Abel answered the ad claiming to have the smallest penis in the Guinness book of World Records. The producers fell for his story and made him a featured subject in the film. After the show ran nationwide, they realized to their horror that they had been had.

Even after it was revealed that it was a hoax, HBO continued to run the program, since Abel's humorous interview was so prominently featured throughout the documentary.