J.K. Rowling Pranked Into Taking Zoom Call With Russians Impersonating Ukraine President Zelensky

J.K. Rowling fell victim to Russian pranksters this week, who released a video of the author who believed she was speaking with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The culprits were a comedy duo named Vovan and Lexus, who spoke with her on Zoom and spun increasingly bizarre stories about Russian military maneuvers involving imagery from the Harry Potter books.

A spokesperson for Rowling claimed the comedians’ video “is a distorted representation of the conversation,” and that they tricked her into speaking with them under the pretense of discussing her charity work for victims of the Ukraine conflict.

The Zelensky impersonator began by saying he was a fan of her work and suggesting “maybe it’s better to demand that Russian don’t read your books at all.” He made more bizarre requests, like asking if she could “impose any sanctions,” on a Russian character in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore.

He also told Rowling that the character Harry Potter’s lightning bolt scar had been seen on Russian tanks, and are writing the words of the killing curse from the books, “Avada Kedavra,” on their missiles.

The prankster discussed Rowling’s charity work by saying “we want to buy a lot of weapons with your money to destroy Russian troops, I hope you are all for that,” to which she replied, “We’ll look after the kids, but I really want Ukraine to have all the arms it needs.”

Some suspect that the duo Vovan and Lexus are Russian state actors, and they certainly seemed to be aiming to make Rowling look foolish, but they could just be out for a laugh and views by any means. You can watch the odd interview below.