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J.K. Rowling was a victim of a prank, and the “Harry Potter” author was not amused.
A video surfaced this week of Rowling believing she was on a Zoom call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The author was conned by a Russian comedy duo, Vovan and Lexus. The group is notorious for tricking celebrities, however a spokesperson for Rowling called the video “edited” and “distasteful.”
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J.K. Rowling was the latest victim of the Russian duo, Vovan and Lexus, impersonating Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on a Zoom call.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
“We can confirm that J.K. Rowling was a victim of a distasteful hoax video call by Russian pranksters, Vovan and Lexus, posing on camera as Ukraine’s President Zelensky,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“J.K. Rowling was approached to talk about her extensive charitable work in Ukraine through her charity Lumos, supporting children and families who have been affected by the current conflict in the region. The video, which has been edited, is a distorted representation of the conversation,” the spokesperson concluded.
Rowling’s Lumos charity has been aiding Ukraine children and families in the Zhytomyr region.
On Friday, the organization tweeted, “Our Ukraine response team is working tirelessly on the ground to provide material and psychological support to the children and families during this crisis.”
When the pranksters addressed her charity, they said, “I want to clarify where you are sending the money that Lumos has collected. … We want to buy a lot of weapons and missiles with your money to destroy Russian troops, I hope you are all for that.”
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In the video, Rowling is seen replying, “We’ll look after the kids, but I really want Ukraine to have all of the arms it needs.”
Throughout the prank call, Vovan and Lexus made several “Harry Potter” refrences, even claiming the scar on Potter’s head looks like a “Z,” which has become of symbol of Russian support during their invasion of Ukraine. The Russian military has placed the symbol on several of their military tanks.
The duo referenced Rowling’s controversial transgender comments during the 12-minute call.
(AP)
Vovan and Lexus asked Rowling if she would change the famous symbol to a Ukraine trident and she replied, “I will look into that. It might be good for me to do something with that myself on social media because I think that will get into the newspapers.”
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The two men, Vladimir “Vovan” Kuznetsov and Aleksei “Lexus” Stolyarov have fooled several celebrities in the past, including Elton John, President George W. Bush, Vice President Harris and Prince Harry.
The Russian pranksters referenced Rowling’s character, Albus Dumbledore, and asked the author if the character was gay, adding “hopefully not a transgender.” The comment was a jab to Rowling’s controversial comments on the transgender community.
The Russian duo impersonated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
(Photo by SERGEY DOLZHENKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The video was first flagged by the Rowling Library, a website dedicated to news surrounding the author.
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The pranksters ended the call with a trio appearing on the Zoom claiming they were members of “The Order of the Ukrainian Phoenix” that read the “Harry Potter” series to soldiers. They all wore matching purple t-shirts that read “Only Putin” in Russian.
