Infamous Russian pranksters Vladimir ‘Vovan’ Kuznetsov and Alexei ‘Lexus’ Stolyarov have struck again, getting Sir Ian McKellen to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a real-life Frodo from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and the The Lord of the Rings series, and agreeing to do everything he can to get gay soldiers to go to Ukraine to fight Russia.
“Tolkien, of course it does seem doesn’t it that you are Frodo,” McKellen said in a video call with whom he believed was Zelensky.
Discussing gay rights, a subject he is deeply passionate about, the actor told the fake Ukrainian president that “there are gay soldiers out there fighting for your country and their reward will be your enthusiasm to help them when it’s all over.”
“I just wanted to know what you felt an individual in the United Kingdom could do for you. Is it – do we send money? Do we support our politicians? Do we –what can we do? Is there anything you can suggest?” McKellen asked. “I think that you can help us if you will give us more money and you will join our statement that we have to take more money,” the pranksters responded.
Vovan and Lexus probed McKellen on what he thought about the creation of a special gay fighting force from Britain to fight for Ukraine. “Well I can certainly send that message to anyone who wants to listen to it,” McKellen promised.
The actor also praised the fake ‘Zelensky’ for finding the “time” to think about gay rights issues in the middle of “a dreadful” conflict, adding that “that keeps you positive and optimistic about the future.”
The pranksters invited McKellen to attend a “gay Bandera festival” in Kiev.
“Oh, that would be wonderful – please can I come to that? I would love to,” the actor gushed. “And what a contrast with Moscow, where gay pride is illegal now for a hundred years.”
Ukrainian fascist followers of WWII-era Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera massacred tens of thousands of Poles, Jews, anti-fascist Ukrainians and Russians in western Ukraine during the Second World War, with their Nazi German allies known for the industrial-scale murder of millions, including tens of thousands of gays and lesbians.
Bandera’s contemporary followers have repeatedly attacked Ukrainian gay activists, coming to blows with the minority ahead of and during pride events.
McKellen went off to show the fake Zelensky Gandalf’s prop sword from movies, and promised to present it to the Ukrainian president in person if he ever makes his way to Kiev.
The British actor also gave Zelensky a taste of his acting prowess, passionately repeating the “You shall not pass!” line from The Fellowship of the Ring as he clutched the sword, and then sprucing up the line at Vovan & Lexus's request, saying “You shall not pass Vovan and Alexa [sic]!”
Finally, McKellen laughed at the pranksters’ joke about ‘Zelensky’ also being “kind of gay” because he was “a little bit f*cked by the whole Russian army right now.”
McKellen is the latest Western celebrity to fall for Vovan & Lexus's antics. In recent months, the pranksters have spoken to JK Rowling, Stephen King and David Lynch posing as Zelensky, with King getting into hot water for calling Bandera a "great man," and Lynch the only one among the three to call on the Ukrainian president to end the conflict, and to sit down with his Russian counterpart and hash things out over a virtual dinner or "a couple of beers."