Well that’s embarrassing… Elton John was pranked into thinking that Russian president Vladimir Putin accepted his invitation for a chat about LGBT rights.

First Elton John reached out to Putin to have a chat about his Russia’s homophobic views over tea, then Putin “accepted” and called the singer for a chat and to arrange a face to face meeting – writing on Instagram, “Thank-you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today”.

Putin later denied that the call took place and that a meeting was not arranged. What exactly happened?!

Well it turns out that Elton John was a part of a hoax, and was duped into thinking that he was on the line to the famed Russian politician. Russian pranksters, Vladimir “Vovan” Krasnov and Alexei “Lexus” Stolyarov, were behind the prank. One posing as Putin and the other as his a translator.

You can listen to the lengthy phone call below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueGQt9aTZB4