Hollywood star Vin Diesel has challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to pour a bucket of ice cubes over his head, as part of a global action to raise awareness for a degenerative motor neuron disease.
The "Ice Challenge" has already seen scores of celebrities tipping a bucket of ice on themselves and uploading the evidence of their bravery to social media websites.
The participants typically 'pass on' the dare by nominating others to complete the challenge within 24 hours.
Diesel, in a video uploaded Tuesday to Instagram, duly covered himself in ice before nominating the Russian president, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and actress Angelina Jolie to complete the challenge.
Asked Tuesday by Russian newspaper Lenta.ru whether Putin would accept, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president probably wasn't aware of the dare.
"We've had other things on our agenda," he said.
Those brave enough to accept the challenge, as well as those who are not, are encouraged to donate to the ALS foundation, a U.S.-based charity that helps sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The foundation said in an online statement Monday that it had received $15.6 million in donations since July 29 compared to the $1.8 million it raised over the same period last year.
Other celebrities to have taken part in the challenge include Microsoft founder Bill Gates — who himself was nominated by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg — and singers Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.
See how Vin Diesel passed on the challenge to Putin:
Or how these other celebrities completed the ice challenge:
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