J.K. Rowling trends rather frequently on social media, and oftentimes it is not because of Harry Potter. The author has said some very controversial things in the past and has been called out by people for the same. However, this time around, the reasons are very different. The author fell victim to a very distasteful prank and it has become the talk of the town.
The author was invited to talk about her contribution to the Ukraine crisis where she was supposed to talk to Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky. While the Zoom call did happen and was recorded for people to watch, it was later found out that it was a prank pulled off by Russian comedy outfit Vovan and Lexus.
The author’s spokesperson called the sham “distasteful” and said, “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 12-minute video, the pranksters are seen telling the author how Harry Potter’s forehead scar looks like a “Z”. They added that the Russian military uses the same mark on its tanks and how it has become a symbol of support for the war among Russians. Rowling was requested to change the symbol to a Ukrainian trident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lar4uiqD01o&feature=emb_title
She is seen addressing the request and telling the pranksters, “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.” They went on to talk about other aspects of the film franchise including topics like whether Dumbledore was really gay and how they were writing “Avada Kedavra” (the killing curse in the Harry Potter) on their missiles.
Interestingly, J.K. Rowling is not the first victim of such a prank. Vovan and Lexus are infamous for prank-calling celebrities. Their past victims include names like Elton John, Prince Harry, Billie Eilish, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and George W. Bush.
(Featured Image Credits: Twitter)
