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Valleywag is tearing itself apart over this rumor: Did Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg get drunk — embarrassingly so — at a Thrillist SF launch party a couple weeks ago? Megan McCarthy, our party correspondent who stayed at the bash until 1 a.m., says she didn't see Zuck there. Thrillist CEO Ben Lerer says he didn't hear anything about it. But Silicon Alley Insider ran with the story, and a tipster says there were two eyewitnesses placing Zuckerberg at the scene late at night, after McCarthy left.

"There's no way Zuckerberg's out getting drunk with some hot chick," Lerer told my colleague Nicholas Carlson. "He's a nerd!" On that point, we all agree, though we'd like to defend the pulchritude of Zuckerberg's steady girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, whom he met at Harvard and who is, from the photos we've seen, fully hot.

Bottom line: We doubt the drunk-Zuck rumor, too. For one thing, where were his bodyguards? Here's a thought: Zuckerberg's only 23. He's having a tough time at work. Whether or not he did get drunk, he deserved to. Mark, next time you venture out, if ever, we're buying.

(Photo by liooneel)