US author Stephen King has been duped by Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus into pledging the role of evil clown Pennywise to "Volodymyr Zelensky", while also praising Ukrainian Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera as a "great man".
Vovan and Lexus called King and introduced themselves as Ukrainian President Zelensky, asking the author to help in an "information war" and come up with a script about "cruel" Russians and innocent Azov Battalion fighters.
When "Zelensky" asked King to write "some kind of a scenario" in which Russian soldiers "rape" an Azov Battalion commander, the author said "we'll do everything we can", noting that he will "see" what he can personally do.
Next, the "Ukrainian president" told King that evil clown Pennywise from the US author’s infamous horror novel "It" is his "favorite hero". “Zelensky” asked the author to make sure he gets to portray him one day. While King was quick to correct "Zelensky" that Pennywise was in fact a bad guy, he agreed to help him get the role.
When "Zelensky" started to praise Bandera, saying that he remains a Ukrainian hero even though he "committed some crimes", including "crimes against Jews", King enthusiastically agreed.
"You can always find things about people to pull them down. Washington and Jefferson were slave owners - that doesn't mean they didn't do many good things to the United States of America. There are always people who have flaws, we are humans," King said. "On the whole, I think Bandera is a great man, and you're a great man, and Viva Ukraine!"
This is not the first time Vovan and Lexus have tricked prominent western media figures. Most recently, the pranksters held a lengthy conversation with another popular author, J.K.Rowling, who ended up mulling the idea of turning Harry Potter's scar into a Ukrainian trident or engraving missiles that target Russian military with the killing curse "Avada Kedavra".