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Is Kal Penn a Terrorist? This Russian Diplomat Seems To Think So.

Russia's ambassador to the UK just sent out a tweet depicting actor Kal Penn as a terrorist.

GettyImages-151200043
GettyImages-151200043

What do Russia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, actor Kal Penn, and fictional Russian boxer Ivan Drago all have in common? They’re all involved in a bizarre Twitter war ignited by the diplomat, Alexander Yakovenko.

What do Russia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, actor Kal Penn, and fictional Russian boxer Ivan Drago all have in common? They’re all involved in a bizarre Twitter war ignited by the diplomat, Alexander Yakovenko.

On Wednesday afternoon, Yakovenko sent out a tweet critical of U.S. policy in Iraq.

The serious nature of the message might suggest the ambassador thought the man in the photo was a real terrorist. Turns out, it’s actor Kal Penn, in a scene from “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” the sequel to the 2004 stoner comedy “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.”

And not only is Penn not from the region where the Islamic State is most active — he’s from New Jersey — he also served as the associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Penn responded with these tweets, including one that contains an image of Drago, who beat Apollo Creed to death in “Rocky IV” before Rocky Balboa avenged his former trainer (and might have ended the Cold War in the process).

Penn appears to have won, at least for now: Yakovenko has yet to respond. The Russian Embassy did with this tweet.

Photo Credit: Stan Honda/Getty Images

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