J.K. Rowling has been the victim of a bizarre hoax by a prankster duo who tricked the Harry Potter author into believing she was having a Zoom call with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Rowling was fooled by Russian 'comedy' duo Vovan and Lexus, who uploaded a 12-minute video of their call with the author.
The pair are infamous for prank-calling celebrities, with past victims including Elton John, Prince Harry, Billie Eilish, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. President George W. Bush.
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The author’s spokesperson called the hoax “distasteful” and noted, “J.K. 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.”
During the increasingly awkward video, the pranksters made reference to Harry Potter’s lightning bolt forehead scar, saying it looks like a “Z,” which the Russian military has put on its tanks during its invasion of Ukraine.
The pranksters asked Rowling if she would switch Harry’s scar to a more pro-Ukraine symbol, to which the author answered, “I will look into that, might be good for me to do something with that myself on social media because I think that will get into the newspapers.”
They also quizzed Rowling, 56, on whether Dumbledore was really gay and asked who he slept with, remarking it was “hopefully not with a transgender.”
The duo also told the author that they were writing “Avada Kedavra” — the killing curse from the Harry Potter franchise — on missiles.
It appears that Rowling, who kept her video on, didn’t realise she was being recorded.
Meanwhile, President Zelensky has addressed the crowds at the Glastonbury Festival in a pre-recorded video message.
"We will not let Russia's war stop us," he told the crowd at The Other Stage before the Libertines began their set.
"That is why we turn to you for support. I ask you to share this video with everyone whose freedom is under attack."
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