The author of the Harry Potter books, JK Rowling seems to have been pranked by someone who led her to believe she was interacting with the President of Ukraine. The Russian comedy outfit Vovan and Lexus took the case of the author as she continued to casually talk to the person assuming that it was President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A Distasteful Prank By The Funky Russians…
In a video that surfaced online early Tuesday by the Rowling Library (June 21), J.K. Rowling was tricked by a Russian comedy outfit Vovan and Lexus, known for prank-calling celebrities. Ranging from American politicians to the British Royal Family, the Russian comedy outfit’s victims include Prince Harry, Billie Eilish, Elton John, Kamala harris, George W. Bush, Bernie Sanders and many more.
The conversation, wherein Rowling believed that she was talking to the Ukrainian president, started with the impersonator telling Rowling that he was a big fan of her work. Oh well, JK Rowling held her hand against her chest and smiled. Not only this, it felt like she was about to break into the American national anthem but the fufu President asked, “What are you doing.? It was when we knew that this is going to get bigger and more hilarious.
The 12-minute awkward video involves the pranksters making Russia-Ukraine war-related remarks like Harry Potter’s lightning bolt forehead scar looks like a “Z,” which the Russian military has put on its tanks during its invasion of Ukraine and has become a symbol of support for the war among Russians.
Not only this but the author was also asked if she would change the symbol to a Ukrainian trident. Rowling can be seen replying, “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.”
It Only Grew Awkward and Distastelful…
Despite the weirdest questions, the Harry Potter volume children fantasy series’ author could not understand that it wasn’t the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I mean how difficult it is to assess the accent, eh? The duo pressed Rowling on whether Dumbledore was really gay and asked who he slept with, noting it was “hopefully not with a transgender.”
The fake president even invited Rowling to read Harry Potter to the soldiers in the Azov Regiment, a Ukrainian paramilitary group full of bookworms who like to read German literature and also used to decorate their headquarters with swastikas. It got more hilarious when Rowling was excited to hear the news that Zelenskyy had ordered Ukrainian soldiers to write “Avada Kedavra” on the missiles they explode into Russia. She said, “I love that joke. I really do.”
Well, the awkwardness didn’t end here. The comedy outfit also told Rowling that they were wiring “Avara Kedavra”— the killing curse in the Harry Potter franchise — on missiles. The Zelenskyy impersonator was on an audio call but at one point, he turned on his webcam to introduce “The Order of the Ukrainian Phoenix” — a trio wearing T-shirts that read “Only Putin” in Russian.
The pranksters made several horrendous remarks regarding the war and said, “We read Harry Potter to the soldiers in the battalion. … Just don’t read the passages about half-breeds [as] they are nationalists and do not like such people.” Phew, that just got too much.
Rowling aimed To Donate…
If you don’t know this, JK Rowling co-founded the charity Lumos and established the Volant Charitable Trust, named after her mother. Her charity work aims at medical causes and supports at-risk women and children. Not only this, but in politics, she has donated to Britain’s Labour Party and opposed Scottish independence and Brexit.
Since late 2019, she has openly voiced her opinions on transgender people and related civil rights. These have been criticised as transphobic by LGBT rights organisations and some feminists, but have received support from other feminists and individuals. In the past, the author has been adamant about supporting Ukraine’s citizens and even announced her intent to pledge £1m to Ukraine relief donations.
Rowling’s Lumos charity has been constantly working in the Zhytomyr region to help vulnerable children and families, and the author has been actively promoting its work on Twitter. Regarding her charitable work, the Russian pranksters intended their motive to buy weapons and missiles and Rowling too responded to it.
The pranksters 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.” Rowling replied, “We’ll look after the kids, but I really want Ukraine to have all of the arms it needs.” Oh well, Rowling stands for Ukraine like most of the world.
The pranksters who tricked Rowling go by the name Vladimir Kuznetsov and Aleksei Stolyarov, a Russian comedy duo who pranks under the name Vovan and Lexus. Well, even if Rowling’s rep called it “distasteful”, the pranksters did take her a** for nearly 13 fu***** minutes, and well, that is commendable if we see it from the comedy’s perspective.
Vovan and Lexus have been criticized in the past for often targeting high-profile people who are critical of Russian foreign policy, leaving some to suspect they’re state actors. Rowling really bought all the bullshit! But hey, this prank that happened during the Pride Month does hold some irony to it. Isn’t it?
