If you’ve seen photos of Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump strutting their stuff at the Paris Olympics, all may not seem as it seems.
The pair of famous faces are actually two professional stuntmen who have been pranking fans at games with a number of social media stunts.
Australian music producer Howard X, a well-known impersonator of the North Korean leader, was spotted posing with Donald Trump impersonator Russell White.
The pair were seen posing together, with Howard X/Kim tucking his fingers behind Trump’s head and Russell White/Trump pointing at the camera.
They have been mastering the art of creating fun photos to grab the internet’s attention during games, with fans around the world snapping photos of them in action.
The pair of famous faces are actually two professionals who have been making fun of the games and teasing fans with a number of stunts on social media.
Australian music producer Howard X (left), a well-known impersonator of the North Korean leader, was seen posing with Donald Trump impersonator Russell White (right).
The pair have been mastering the art of creating fun photos to grab the internet’s attention during games, with fans around the world snapping them in action.
The couple was spotted at the 400-meter relay final at the Stade de France on August 10.
Howard X also made a dramatic entrance to cheer on North Korea’s Pang Chol-mi as she fought China’s Chang Yuan in the women’s boxing semi-finals on Thursday.
Before that, he was seen waving the North Korean flag and boldly attacking Chinese leader Xi Jinping while flaunting a Winnie the Pooh teddy bear last Sunday.
The fictional bear has been banned in China due to a trend on social media comparing it to Xi.
Howard X’s antics were documented in X, where he made it clear that the piece was a satirical commentary on global politics.
He wrote: ‘Dictators hate being mocked, so I took the opportunity to do so at the Olympics. Despite being warned, the North Korean delegation couldn’t stop me from mocking #KimJongUn.
‘Also, many Chinese people laughed when I made fun of #XiJinPing hitting #WinnieThePooh.’
The real Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi on February 27, 2019
Howard X’s antics were documented in X, where he made it clear that the piece was a satirical commentary on global politics.
The fictional bear has been banned in China due to a trend on social media comparing it to Xi.
But the pair’s antics have been causing some trouble at the Games, with Howard X writing on X on Friday night: ‘Just got out of detention where they patted me, #Trump and my film crew down and checked our passports and then kicked us out of the Parc des Princes stadium during the gold medal match between France and Spain.
“While everyone found us entertaining, this particular security guard did not like it. We were not allowed to watch the rest of the match and were ‘escorted’ out by six security guards.”
This isn’t the first time Howard X has been kicked out for causing chaos in his Kim Jong Un outfit.
He was deported to Vietnam ahead of a summit between North Korea’s real leader and US President Trump in 2018.
Howard X had arrived in town with Trump impersonator Russell White, staging a fake summit on the steps of the Hanoi opera house amid a swarm of press and hired security guards.
Hanoi police questioned the Kim impersonator after the incident and told him he would be put on a plane back home to Hong Kong.
The pair were spotted at the 400m relay final at the Stade de France on August 10.
During the race, Trump’s lookalike showed off a gold crown as fans watched the pair in action.
Vietnamese immigration officials told the impersonator his visa was “invalid,” but he said he received no further explanation.
“The real reason is that I was born with a face similar to Kim Jong-un’s, that’s the real crime,” he told reporters as three plainclothes officials drove him from his hotel to Hanoi airport.
White was allowed to remain in the city but was asked to stop appearing in public in disguise, according to The Guardian.
The Trump lookalike had been stopped during his walks around Hanoi by locals and tourists eager to take a selfie with him.
Howard X said he thought he was being deported because the real Kim “has no sense of humor.”
“Satire is a powerful weapon against any dictatorship. They’re scared of a few guys who look real,” Howard X said at the time, wearing a black Mao-style suit and thick black glasses.