Amid the controversy surrounding that alleged Downing Street Christmas party, people have been speculating that Hugh Grant’s prime ministerial character David in the iconic Christmas classic Love Actually would never betray the public’s trust.
However, that discussion led to an almighty – and hilarious – mix-up, with one person thinking that the British actor was, infact, former UK prime minister Tony Blair.
It all started when a tweet praising Grant as David the PM went viral, with Twitter user Sophie (@Soph1efazz) tweeting an image of Grant outside Number 10 with the caption: “He would’ve never treated us like this.” The tweet garnered nearly 90,000 likes (now THAT’s a mandate).
he would’ve never treated us like this pic.twitter.com/uE2AXpEQxq
— soph❤️🔥 (@Soph1efazz) December 8, 2021
While most of us recognise that the image is in fact Grant pretending to be a prime minister in the film, one person called Natalia (@NataliaAlGhoul) replied to the viral tweet by writing “Iraq says hi” – appearing to refer to the Iraq War, which began in 2003 under Blair’s leadership.
Iraq says hi
— Tahls 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🇳🇿 (@NataliaAlGhoul) December 9, 2021
Despite how convincing he was in Love Actually, the original tweeter pointed out to Natalia that Grant has never actually been PM and that he did not invade Iraq.
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hugh grant didn’t invade iraq
— soph❤️🔥 (@Soph1efazz) December 9, 2021
When she was corrected, Natalia took the case of mistaken identity in her stride and admitted her mistake: “Sorry I thought this was Tony Blair.”
Fair play to her.
— Bolu Babalola (@BeeBabs) December 9, 2021
This hilarious mix-up captured many people’s attention, and user Bolu Babalola (@BeeBabs) screenshotted the interaction and shared it for everyone to see. The tweet quickly went viral with nearly 30,000 likes.
— Bolu Babalola (@BeeBabs) December 9, 2021
Of course, this led to a lot of reactions from people who found the interaction particularly entertaining.
this is FUNNY omg https://t.co/TAbAFr48zZ
— Darla 🇬🇾 (@FW0111) December 10, 2021
I laughed until I cried haha https://t.co/FySZekcZCy
— mar (@marwapdf) December 10, 2021
i love this fucking app omg https://t.co/AkaLf0sXwr
— iz (@izzyew) December 9, 2021
Made me howl https://t.co/oaXMJqfFdl
— Liv ✨ (@oliviamackey1) December 9, 2021
i am actually in tears this is the best tweet i’ve ever seen https://t.co/RGkm38n6xE
— ana (@pelicinema) December 9, 2021
i cannot believe this website is free https://t.co/g6o4ng7iVZ
— David Chipakupaku 🏴🇿🇲 (@David_Chippa) December 9, 2021
This is the content I’m here for honestly. https://t.co/t5QNgrbIed
— Siri Srinivas (@pjux) December 9, 2021
Natalia herself even replied to the viral tweet and was able to joke and see the funny side of her mistake.
Growing up means laughing at your mistakes 😂 https://t.co/ZUNmq4PT1u
— Tahls 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🇳🇿 (@NataliaAlGhoul) December 10, 2021
She even took the time to direct an apology to Grant for accusing him of invading Iraq. “Sorry for saying you invaded Iraq. I thought the photo was Tony Blair,” she wrote. Grant is yet t reply to her apology tweet.
Sorry for saying you invaded Iraq. I thought the photo was tony blair 😂😭 https://t.co/xW5lpUEEDR
— Tahls 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🇳🇿 (@NataliaAlGhoul) December 10, 2021
What a good laugh for everyone. But, crucially, with the festive season upon us, we think it’s the perfect time for Natalia to brush up on her film trivia by watching Love Actually.
