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“Zelensky’s former press secretary confirmed Zelensky’s cocaine use. She claims that before his interviews, he would disappear into the bathroom for 15 minutes and come back ‘a completely different person”
Published
A viral claim suggests that Iuliia Mendel, the former press secretary for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed his cocaine use during a recent interview. The claim alleges she described him disappearing into bathrooms before interviews and returning as a "completely different person."
The verdict is unverified. While a video titled "Zelensky’s Press Secretary Reveals All: Cocaine, Cover-ups..." was published on the Tucker Carlson Network on May 11, 2026, the specific transcript or confirmation of the "bathroom" anecdote is not yet available in the provided evidence. Furthermore, the claim originates from a source with a history of spreading documented disinformation regarding Zelensky.
The claim is based on a real interview between Tucker Carlson and Iuliia Mendel that premiered on May 11, 2026. The episode includes a chapter titled "Does Zelensky Do Coke?" (tuckercarlson.com). However, the provided evidence does not contain the actual dialogue or a transcript of Mendel's response.
Historically, allegations of drug use against Zelensky have been a staple of pro-Russian disinformation campaigns. Previous claims involving "cocaine on his desk" or "video confessions" have been repeatedly debunked as digitally altered fakes (voxukraine.org, rollingstone.com).
Because the specific "bathroom" quote cannot be verified through the available summary of the Carlson interview, and given the source's background as an opposition politician (Anatolij Sharij), the claim remains unverified until a full transcript or video evidence of Mendel making these specific statements is reviewed.
Source quality: The evidence includes the existence of the interview and its chapter titles, which confirms the topic was discussed. However, without the full transcript, the specific 'bathroom' claim cannot be confirmed or refuted.
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8 reviewed sources behind this verdict.
Confirms that an interview with Iuliia Mendel took place on the date of the claim and specifically addressed the topic of drug use.
Provides context on previous debunked cocaine allegations involving Zelensky and Elon Musk.
Used for: History of Cocaine Allegations.
Documents the long-term smear campaign and the use of shallow fake videos to accuse Zelensky of drug addiction.
A video showed cocaine on the desk of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a video call with Elon Musk. Rating: Rating: False.
Rumours on social media from pro-Russian accounts, using digitally altered videos, claim that President Volodymyr Zelensky is addicted to cocaine.
Social media users are claiming a video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shows him saying he uses cocaine – but the clip was
On Feb. 25, 2024, viral posts on X claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was high on cocaine during an interview with NBC News.