Earlier this week, dozens of mainstream media outlets falsely claimed U.S. military veteran Roman Sharf was a “Russian oligarch” after he bought a pair of signed Donald Trump sneakers at an auction.
In a video posted to social media, Sharf exposed the media lies about him and set the record straight.
The headlines say: “Russian Oligarch CEO spends 9000 dollars on a pair of sneakers to support Trump.”
Sounds catchy, but I came from Ukraine (back when it was still the Soviet Union) as a refugee with my dad. The man had 4 dollars in his pocket.
I busted my ass since I was 13… pic.twitter.com/jodtOA4WT2
— Roman Sharf | CEO of Luxury Bazaar (@romansharf) February 19, 2024
It turns out, the Trump supporter and shoe collector is actually an immigrant from Ukraine who legally came to America when he was 13 years old!
See the following screenshot for a small sample of the mainstream media outlets that called Sharf a Russian CEO, from the New York Post to The Economic Times.
Left-wing activist Ed Krassenstein issued an apology on Tuesday for contributing to the false allegation Sharf was a Russian CEO, writing:
“Kudos to Roman Sharf, the man who paid $9,000 for a signed pair of Trump Sneakers, for taking the high road. Yesterday, a huge portion of the mainstream media, in addition to bloggers, social media pundits, and the like (including myself) misreported that @romansharf was a ‘Russian CEO.’ It turns out that he’s actually from Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union. He’s a US military veteran, and American. I want to apologize for my mistake, and I hope the rest of the media does as well. I also hope Roman accepts my apology.
Kudos to Roman Sharf, the man who paid $9,000 for a signed pair of Trump Sneakers, for taking the high road.
Yesterday, a huge portion of the mainstream media, in addition to bloggers, social media pundits, and the like (including myself) misreported that @romansharf was a… pic.twitter.com/1vL4iX5JSY
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) February 20, 2024
Sharf politely accepted Ed’s apology.
Thank you Ed, I appreciate that. Takes a man to own up to a misstep or fault https://t.co/DttqvoNn4o
— Roman Sharf | CEO of Luxury Bazaar (@romansharf) February 20, 2024
The rare high-top Trump sneakers sold out just hours after launching at Saturday’s Sneaker Con in Philadelphia.