Music icon Elton John admitted Thursday, that he was a victim of a hoax after expressing that he wanted to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin about LGBT rights in his country.
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The New York Times reports that Vladimir Krasnov and Alexey Stolyarov, two well-known Russian celebrity pranksters, have taken credit for the phone call, claiming in the national tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda that the entire phone call was a hoax.
“If this unfortunate incident has helped push the vital issue into the spotlight, then I am happy to be pranked on this occasion”, he wrote.
Sir Elton, 62, responded to the incident on Instagram as audio of the call was released.
Earlier this month Elton John said he received a call from Russian President Vladmir Putin.
Sir Elton, a vocal gay rights campaigner, thanked Mr Putin for reaching out to him in a post on Instagram.
After the fake Putin pointed out that Sir Elton had met with Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko at the weekend, the singer assured him that it was “not a political thing”.
Russian Federation has been criticized by the West and human rights activists for its treatment of gay people and John has campaigned publicly against a 2013 law banning the dissemination of “gay propaganda” among young people.
“Tell him he’s made my day”, says John to the person he believed to be a translator at the end of the conversation.
Turns out the whole situation was a “prank” set up by Russian hoaxsters and TV presenters Vladimir Krasnov and Alexei Stolyarov, known as “Vovan and Lexus”.
TUESDAY, THE KREMLIN made it official, denying it placed the call. Because, according to the internationally renowned musician, he and Putin were going to meet in person to discuss Russia’s attitude towards the LGBT community. “This day and this conversation were the most wonderful of my life, ‘” Krasnov said. “I’d love to sit down and talk to him”.
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“It turned out that Elton John was really expecting that call, so he really believed he was talking to the people we said we were”, explained the joker.
