Sir Elton John has spoken out – after it was revealed he had fallen for a hoax call from a fake ‘Vladimir Putin’.
Sir Elton John – who has a large following in Russia – this week called for President Putin to meet with him to discuss his country’s anti-gay laws – and just a day later claimed that he had received a call from President Putin .
However, after Putin’s official spokesperson denied any contact with the singer, it emerged the call was actually the work of two TV pranksters , who released the audio of the call.
In the call, ‘Putin’ asks the singer whether he would attend a Pride rally in Moscow, but he does not twig the call is a joke, saying: “Thank you. You made my day. This day, and the conversation was the most wonderful and beautiful in my life.”
However, Sir Elton isn’t going to let the prank dissuade him from arguing for LGBT rights – posting a picture of a badly beaten gay couple on his Instagram.
He wrote: “Pranks are funny. Homophobia, however is never funny.
“I love Russia and my offer to talk to President Putin about LGBT rights still stands. I will always stand up for those that are being degraded and discriminated against.
“If this unfortunate incident has helped push this vital issue back into the spotlight, then I am happy to be pranked on this occasion.”
The real President Putin is still yet to respond to the singer.
Listen to the whole 11 minute call below:
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