In her crusade to highlight wage disparities between men and women, comedian Sarah Silverman admitted this week a story she previously told about being a victim of gender discrimination was embellished but asked “maniac” critics to support her cause anyway.

On April 6, Silverman accused a New York comedy club owner of having paid her less than her male counterpart Todd Barry for an equal set, with just one issue: her claim was completely false.

Per Silverman, she and Barry had just performed identical sets when she discovered that he had made $60 as compared to her $10. She told Levo League: “So I went back inside and I asked the owner Al Martin and I said, ‘Al, why did you pay me $10 and you paid Todd Barry $60?’ And he, it was so perfect, He goes, ‘Oh, did you want a $60 spot?’ It was symbolic, I didn’t need $60, but, you know it was pretty s—-y.”

Unfortunately for Sarah, Mr. Martin recalls the incident in question and completely disputed the claim.

“I did not pay you less cause of gender …..I paid you less because Todd Barry was booked and you weren’t,” wrote Martin on the Facebook page for the Broadway Comedy Club, which he currently owns. “It was a GUEST SPOT, so I gave you some car fare, which actually is more than almost any club would have given for a GUEST Spot…Funny how in your attempt to become a super hero with a noble cause, you forgot that little fact.”

Through a statement to Salon, Silverman admitted that she had made the whole thing up and apologized to Martin: “My regret is that I mentioned Al by name — it should have been a nameless, faceless anecdote and he has always been lovely to me,” she said.

She continued:

This is also HARDLY an example of the wage gap and can only do that very true reality a terrible disservice if I were trying to make it one. When I was interviewed by Levo, they asked me “Do you remember a time you were paid less for the same job” and this story, being just that, popped into my head.

To Al, I truly am sorry to bring you into this as you employ women and pay them the same as the men I’m sure. To the maniacs who want to use this as a chit against women’s issues, I ask that you please don’t. Because that would be super s—-y. Feel free to aim your vitriol at me but leave this issue of working women out of it, K?

Watch Silverman’s false wage gap revelation: