Sir Elton John may have been the victim of a prank, but he’s brushed it off by drawing attention to the victims of homophobic abuse.
The singer posted an image of two men, bruised and bloodied, to his Instagram page with a message of hope for the future of the LGBT community in Russia.
‘Pranks are funny,’ Elton writes, ‘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.’
Two Russian comedians had called up Elton and pretended to be President Vladimir Putin and his press secretary Dmitry Peskov after the Rocket Man singer had called for Russia’s leader to change his ‘ridicuous’ attitude towards gay rights.