JK Rowling has been joked about by Russian cheaters who tricked her into thinking she was talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a Zoom call.
The billionaire author was tricked by Vovan and Lexus, a Russian comedy duo famous for making prank calls and posing as celebrities.
The duo, who have previously joked with people like Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, Prince Harry and Elton John, tricked the Harry Potter author into believing he was talking to President Zelensky about his charity work in the country.
However, during her 12-minute call, things went awry as the couple teased her and asked increasingly strange questions.
Among them was a joke that the country’s soldiers are writing “Avada Kedavra” – a curse that kills people in the fantasy world of Harry Potter – with missiles aimed at pro-Putin regions.
Ms Rowling appears to say she “loves” the joke in a clip posted online, but a spokesman for the author called the video “distorted representation” and said it had been edited.
During the call, the impersonator also appeared to ask if one of her literary creations, Albus Dumbledore, was gay.
The video shows JK Rowling being a joke by a couple of Russian comics who tricked her into thinking she was talking to Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelensky
In a video shared online, the joker said, “By the way, I ordered our fighters to write‘ Avada Kedavra ’on the missiles we will be launching in Donetsk and Luhansk, so how do you feel about this joke?
In response, the author seems to say, “I love the joke, I love the joke, really.”
Then the deceivers add, “Finally, tell me a secret, I’m interested as a fan of yours, is Dumbledore gay? I won’t tell anyone, and who did he sleep with?”
This makes the author say smile and say, “I said in 2007 that I always saw Dumbledore as gay.”
It is not known when the joke took place, although on June 17 a video was posted on YouTube showing the deception call.
A spokesman for the author told The Hollywood Reporter that the deception was “unpleasant.”
They said: “He approached JK Rowling to talk about his 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.”
Vovan and Lexus are shaped to joke prominent celebrities and figures, including British politicians like Boris Johnson and Ben Wallace, but No10 has insisted they are linked to the Kremlin.
The videos are presented as self-proclaimed jokers Vladimir “Vovan” Kuznetsov (pictured right) and Alexei “Lexus” Stolyarov (pictured left)
The couple made a joke to the author of Harry Potter that he thought he was talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured left). The couple has previously tricked people into believing they were talking to the country’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal (pictured right)
The couple – whose real names are Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov – have openly admitted to sympathizing with Vladimir Putin and are suspected of being Russian agents, although they deny it.
Despite denying being a Russian agent, Stolyarov himself has admitted that they have their own “internal censorship.”
“We wouldn’t make a joke on Putin,” he told the Guardian. “We don’t want to hurt our country. We don’t want to upset here; we don’t want to do anything to help Russia’s enemies.”
Earlier this year, the couple tricked Mr Wallace, who is Secretary of Defense, into believing he was talking to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on a 10-minute Teams call from the back of his car.
In a grainy excerpt from the call, Wallace seemed to talk about how the UK had supported Ukraine’s ambitions to become a member of NATO in the past, but found that “it was not easy to get that other members would agree. “
The Ministry of Defense has accused Russia of manipulating the images of Mr. Wallace and has attacked the Kremlin for spreading “propaganda” to distract attention from its atrocities in Ukraine. He declined to comment on the latest video.
The duo also tricked Home Secretary Priti Patel into thinking she was also talking to Prime Minister Shmyhal during which she spoke about the war situation, the refugee crisis and UK support. in Ukraine.
The rambling conversation, which appeared to have been manipulated, saw one of the jokers compare the Home Secretary to Margaret Thatcher.
Other victims of the Russian “jokers”: Prince Harry, Boris Johnson and Elton John have fallen for deceptive calls from the same “state-sponsored” couple who swindled Ben Wallace and Priti Patel.
Russian jokers who targeted JK Rowling, Ben Wallace and Priti Patel have claimed a number of other scalps, such as Prince Harry, Boris Johnson and Elton John.
The duo, called Vovan and Lexus, have a YouTube channel where they share clips of their deceptions, which are often directed at Kremlin critics.
The couple – whose real names are Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov – have openly admitted to sympathizing with Vladimir Putin and are suspected of being Russian agents, although they deny it.
Here are some of his other successful stunts over the years:
2020 – Prince Harry reveals his agony for Megxit, says “we are completely separated from most of my family” and criticizes “sick” world leaders for climate change
Prince Harry opened his heart to Megxit, being more “normal” than other members of the royal family and how Donald Trump has “blood on his hands” in two phone talks with Stolyarov and Kuznetsov.
The Duke of Sussex insisted he chose to retire from royal life to “protect my son” and said “we are completely separated from most of my family” in misleading calls that give an extraordinary view of his mood when the couple resigned in 2020..
When asked about Meghan, she frankly admitted that “marrying a prince or princess is not all that has been done” and that her new life in Canada is “much better” than serving as a members of the royal family.
Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov “tricked” Prince Harry into believing they were climate change activist Greta Thunberg and her father Svante
Harry, who is not believed to have met Greta, also talked about Donald Trump and the ‘sick’ leaders of the world, why he needs to use private jets while campaigning against climate change and having nothing to do with his uncle Prince Andrew.
Prince Harry also insisted that his military service had made him “more normal than my family would have liked to believe.” A spokesman for Harry then said they would not comment on the exchanges.
Her sincere views came during two revealing conversations with deceivers posing as Swedish climate activist Greta, 17, and her father Svante on New Year’s Eve and January 22 calls. .
And even when the talks get weird, even when the fake “Greta” talks about a married marriage to six-year-old Prince George, and the need to move the penguins to the North Pole, Harry doesn’t. he seems worried and keeps chatting.
2020 – Jokes posing as Greta once again offer to endorse Bernie Sanders in “a great rap video” with Billie Eilish and Kanye West
The pranksters called on US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders posing as climate activist Greta Thunberg and offered Thunberg’s support to his campaign.
The call took place in early December, but the duo decided to launch it more than two months later due to Sanders’ success in Iowa and New Hampshire, Kuznetsov said.
In the recording, an unnamed woman pretends to be Greta, and Stolyarov plays her father, Svante.
They offer to support the campaign of a man who identifies himself as Sanders, and the man welcomes him.
Bernie Sanders is seen in an animation that accompanied the prank phone call, in which the couple, posing as Greta, offers to “endorse” him.
Sanders suggests that ‘Greta’ make a statement in her support and that they make an event together the next time she comes to the United States. “I would be very grateful,” he says.
Then, “Greta” proposes to record a song “a great rap” in support of Sanders along with “singer Billie Eilish and rapper Kanye West.”
“If we want the video to be successful, we have to put a lot of expensive cars in it, and girls,” says ‘Greta’.
“And you have to wear gold jewelry and chains, it will be nice,” he adds.
Sanders laughs and says “Okay” as he tries to end the conversation, but the duet says “Greta” is about to visit Russia and needs advice on how to behave there.
“Greta” offers Kamala Harris her support and says she has “dirt” on Trump
The pranksters pretended to be Greta Thunberg and her father again to trick then-vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris and offer her harmful information about President Trump.
The audio of the phone call, obtained by The Sun, indicated that Harris had no idea the couple was cheating on him.
“Congratulations on all your leadership,” Harris tells the jokers.
“I’m very inspired by your courage and your voice.”
In 2020, the pranksters once again posed as Greta Thunberg and her father to trick then-vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris and offer her harmful information about President Trump.
Other goals of the couple, “including Erdogan, John McCain and Alexander Lukashenko”
The Russian duo also claimed to have interviewed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and US Senator John McCain.
In 2016, they claimed to have deceived Recep Tayyip Erdogan by posing as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk.
According to Erdogan, “Poroshenko” his “dear friend” before the jokers and Erdogan discussed the construction of a “dialogue” between the two countries and the coordination of sanctions against Russia.
There have been allegations that Stolyarov and Kuznetsov use editing software to simulate conversations that never took place.
Then ‘Greta’ says to the senator, ‘Umm, it would be nice to support you in your campaign. What is the best way to do that? ‘
Harris, who is …