Okay, let's try this again: a little over a week after a set of pranksters tricked British rock star Sir Elton John into believing he was getting a call from Russia's president, Vladimir Putin has now actually given Sir Elton a ring.
Background: Sir Elton had called out Putin on the BBC two weeks ago for Russia's horrible record on LGBT rights and said he wished he could talk it out with Putin. After a bit of fun, two Russian pranksters admit they'd faked a call to Sir Elton.
But on Thursday, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's main spokesman, told Russian outlet RIA Novosti that Putin himself really had called Sir Elton this time. For real.
"Putin spoke to Elton John," Peskov reportedly said. "Putin phoned him and said 'I know some guys played a trick on you on the phone but don't get offended. They are harmless people though that of course does not justify what they did.'"
Sir Elton's people had no more information to provide about the call when BuzzFeed News reached them. But the Russian leader apparently also said "in the future if their schedules coincide" he'd be totally down for a face-to-face meeting.
And with that our hopes for a Vladimir Putin/ Sir Elton John track being recorded are back on the table.
