Author JK Rowling fell victim to a prank call wherein she believed she was having a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. After Rowling's video began doing rounds on the internet, Twitter users started trolling her for falling for the prank.
The video of the Harry Potter author getting pranked by Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus is all over social media. It shows her having a video call with the comedians pretending to be Ukraine’s President.
JK Rowling gets pranked by Russian comedians: What exactly happened?
The Harry Potter author was pranked when she thought she was on a call with the Ukrainian President. The prankster duo even managed to record a 13-minute video of the author talking about the Ukraine-Russia dispute and her charity work.
While Rowling can be seen through a webcam, the Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus can only be heard, which means they are featured only through audio. In the conversation, Rowling was seen getting uncomfortable multiple times when the pranksters asked her whether or not Albus Dumbledore was gay.
The Zelenskyy impersonators also noted that the lightning bolt scar on Harry Potter's forehead looks like the 'Z' plastered on Russian tanks. The 'Z' has now become a symbol of support for the war among the Russians.
Following this, the pranksters asked Rowling if she could change the scar to the Ukrainian trident, to which 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.”
Later, at the end of the call, the pranksters asked Rowling to say "hi" to Vovan and Lexus, who, they claimed were, Russian writers. However, the author’s spokesperson later called the prank “distasteful.”
The spokesperson added:
“JK Rowling was approached to talk about her extensive charitable work in Ukraine, 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.”
Twitter trolls JK Rowling for being pranked
In the prank video, the author is seen talking to a few people whom the pranksters introduce as "real life wizards." Amused by the prank, several Twitter users wondered how JK Rowling didn't understand that she was being pranked, despite the awkward questions the pranksters were asking her.
The Russian prankster duo, Vovan and Lexus, have played similar pranks on a number of well-known celebrities. These celebrities include Elton John, Prince Harry, Billie Eilish, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and George W. Bush.
The prank, however, isn't making people question just JK Rowling but are raising their voice against the things that were said in the video.