Amazon Studios

‘Borat’ Sequel Fans Raise $50,000 for Unemployed Babysitter Duped in Sacha Baron Cohen Film

October 28th, 8:06am October 28th, 1:05pm

Brian WelkFilm Reporter • brian.welk@thewrap.com • Twitter: @brianwelk

Movies

Jeanise Jones says she thought she was filming a documentary and was paid $3,600 for her part

Fans of “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” have raised over $50,000 for Jeanise Jones, the grandmother who appears in the film and is hired to babysit Borat’s daughter, Tutar, after Jones revealed that she was compensated only $3,600 for her time.

According to a GoFundMe started for Jones by her pastor, she did not realize she was filming a “Borat” movie — and is currently unemployed due to pandemic-related downsizing at the Oklahoma City insurance company where she’s worked for three decades.

In a series of interviews published this week, Jones and her pastor Derrick Scobey explained just how convincing Sacha Baron Cohen and co-star Maria Bakalova were.

Jones appears in two scenes in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” in which Borat asks Jones to look after his 15-year-old daughter, Tutar (Bakalova) and brings her into her home wearing a ball and chain. She then learns that Tutar is to be married to an older man — all of which Jones believed to be real and part of a documentary that would only be seen overseas, according to Showbiz911. She later appears in a scene in which Borat comes back to see Jones and asks if she’ll be his “new Black wife.”

“I’m thinking she’s really from a third-world [country] and that’s how they treat women and young girls,” Jones told Variety. “I [suggested they] take her to a school and let her observe girls in a classroom who can read and write just like boys. I was thinking it was real, so my thought was they were going to take her to see different things and make it so she could be able to stay in the United States. Evidently, that’s not what happened.”

Jones lives in Oklahoma City but did not film the scene inside her own home, instead flying to Washington state, where the movie was filmed. But she also has not seen the finished film and only recently learned after seeing the trailer how her scenes were actually used.

She said that she spent weeks worried about Tutar and is now relieved that she was not really in danger. “I would give her a hug. I’m glad to know she’s not really in that situation. I hate to hear of anyone in that situation,” Jones told Variety. “Him, I don’t know. It wasn’t real, so I would shake his hand and say, ‘You got me.'”

Though The New York Post quoted Jones as feeling “betrayed” by Baron Cohen and the filmmakers, she clarified to Variety that she felt safe while filming her scenes and blames herself for not fully reading the contract she was asked to sign.

Representatives for Amazon and Baron Cohen did not immediately reply for a request for comment.

Since the announcement of Sacha Baron Cohen's new Showtime series, "Who Is America?" several politicians, including Sarah Palin and Joe Walsh, have said that they were tricked into talking on-camera with the actor's many a...

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1. Donald Trump In 2003, when Trump was still an entrepreneur and not yet in the White House, Baron Cohen, posing as British rapper Ali G, approached him with an interesting business proposal: gloves that keep your han...

2. Newt Gingrich Amid talks of welfare reform and the possibility of a female president, the most entertaining moment of Ali G's interview with former speaker of the House was Ali G repeatedly asking Gingrich how to pr...

3. Pat Buchanan Conservative political commentator Pat Buchanan seemed to go along with Baron Cohen’s ruse as his character mixes up WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) with BLTs when talking about Iraq.

4. Christine Todd Whitman Whitman, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency and governor of New Jersey, endured questions from Ali G about the size and ecological consequences of whale feces.

5. James Baker Ali G probed the former secretary of state about the danger of Iraq and Iran having such similar names. “Ain’t there a real danger, that someone give like a message over the radi...

6. Neil Hamilton “Totally disgraced” member of parliament Neil Hamilton shared what appeared to be a joint with Ali G onstage. This was met with the character's approval.

7. Ralph Nader The former Green Party presidential candidate engaged in a discussion with Ali G about the dangers of living in the jungle and how to rig electricity meters.

8. Gail Porter Ali G serenaded television star Gail Porter with “Every Breath You Take” by The Police while holding her hand in an extended, uncomfortable moment.

9. Dick Thornburgh The former attorney general was asked by Ali G just “how hung” the members of a hung jury are.

10. Boutros Boutros-Ghali “I am Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Put down your gun and listen to Bob Marley,” said the late former UN secretary general as he closed out the interview.

11. Brent Scowcroft The former U.S. national security advisor corrected Ali G when he asked if they caught the people who sent Tampax through the mail. “It was anthrax,” Scowcroft answered.

12. James Lipton Lipton, the host of “Inside the Actors Studio,” carefully rebuked Ali G’s use of the word “hoe” during his interview. ”I don’t use words like ‘hoes’ and I hate them,” Lipton said after a long pause.

13. Buzz Aldrin “Do you think man will ever walk on the sun?” asked Ali G in his interview with the astronaut.

14. Sam Donaldson The interview with the “boss man of ABC news,” Sam Donaldson, seemed to start out innocently, with Ali G inquiring about how the media affects politics. However, the conversation quickly took a turn a...

15. Porter Wagoner Baron Cohen’s Kazakh character, Borat, asked the country singer for help in writing a country song about his sister, “the number two or three prostitute in the country of Kazakhs...

16. John Naber Olympic medalist John Naber indulged Ali G by rapping along to his beatboxing.

17. Gore Vidal Late historian and author Gore Vidal remained polite when Ali G confused him with hairstylist Vidal Sassoon.

18-29. NBA Players (Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Ben Wallace, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Robert Horry, Richard Jefferson, Dwayne Wade, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Reggie Miller, Steve Kerr) Highlights from th...

30. Noam Chomsky Ali G confused Chomsky when he asked if bilingual people were attracted to both men and women, referring instead to bisexuality.

31. Andy Rooney The “60 Minutes” pundit schooled Ali G in grammar during their interview, grumpily correcting “does you think” to “do you think” and “racialism” to “racism,” and refused to let a single error go.

32. Edwin Meese Like many other Ali G guests, former Attorney General Edwin Meese ended his interview with a rap: “I was attorney general, my name is Meese. I say go to college, don’t carry a piece.”

33. Thomas J. Pickard Former acting FBI Director Thomas J. Pickard was roped into a discussion about Area 51, which included Ali G singing “The X-Files” theme song and talking about being probed by ...

34. Marlin Fitzwater In a cringe-worthy moment, Ali G asked the former White House press secretary if being a secretary is embarrassing, and compared it to being a male nurse.

35. Kent Hovind Ali G countered Young Earth spokesperson Kent Hovind’s argument for creationism by asking him if he ate bananas, to which he said yes. Ali used his response to prove that humans are related to monkeys, ...

36. Sally Jessy Raphael In the episode that featured Sally Jessy Raphael, Ali G crashed the talk show host’s live taping of her television program, “Sally,” and riled up the audience before she entered.

37. Naomi Wolf Any conversation involving Ali G and feminism is bound to be bad news. Author Naomi Wolf grew noticeably frustrated with the character’s misogynistic ways -- “Gee, I’m speechless,” she said after Ali exp...

38. Dr. C. Everett Koop Former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop was forced to explain to Ali G that the “dong bone” is in fact, not a bone.

39. Stansfield Turner In this interview, Ali G spoke with former CIA Director Stansfield Turner in a library and wore a jersey emblazoned with the words “Big Willie” on the front. He inquire...

40-41. David and Victoria Beckham Although Ali G’s interview with the Beckhams was done for Comic Relief, it was just as uncomfortable as usual. “How many of the Spice Girls turned you d...

44. Alan Keyes It took the anti-Semitic Borat to hand Keyes a “rib of a Jew” for the conservative activist and pundit to rip off his mic and storm out of the interview.

45. Bob Barr Who could ever forget Rep. Bob Barr’s uncomfortable swallow when Borat gave him a gift of cheese made from his wife’s breast milk.

46. Ron Paul The former Texas representative and presidential candidate is tricked into a hotel room “interview” with Baron Cohen’s fashionable Austrian character, Bruno, who promptly put on music ...

47. Paula Abdul The singer clearly had no idea what she was getting into. Her interview with Bruno involved talking about her humanitarian work while sitting on “human chairs” -- “gardeners” crouched on a...

48. Ryan Seacrest Though more of a stunt than an act of trickery, Baron Cohen attended the 2012 Oscars red carpet in his character from “The Dictator,” Gen. Aladeen. He “accidentally” spilled the supposed ...

49. Sarah Palin The former governor of Alaska was one of the first notable figures to admit to being fooled by Baron Cohen on "Who Is America?" She ripped the actor, who posed as “wounded veteran” Billy Wayne ...

50. Joe Walsh The former congressman and media personality corroborated Palin’s claims and stated that Baron Cohen had duped him by inviting him to “pro-Israel dinner” and filmed an interview with him for Israel’s...

51. Dick Cheney In a clip promoting "Who is America?" former Vice President Dick Cheney is seen signing a “waterboarding kit,” which was a plastic jug of water. “That’s the first time I’ve ever signed a waterboard...

52. Ted Koppel The former “Nightline” anchor told The Hollywood Reporter how he had been duped by Baron Cohen’s wheelchair-bound character. Koppel said he was asked about the size of President Trump...

53. Roy Moore Moore, a former Alabama judge and U.S. Senate candidate, released a statement saying he was invited by Cohen to a 70th birthday celebration for Israel. “I don’t need Sacha Cohen to tell me who Am...

54. Austin Rhodes The conservative radio host gave his account of his interview with gender and women’s studies professor “Dr. Nira Cain,” another one of Baron Cohen’s “Who is America?” character...

55. Joe Arpaio The former Arizona sheriff who dubbed himself ''America's toughest sheriff,'' said he was interviewed by Baron Cohen, who was posing as a “famous Finnish comedian.” Baron Cohen used illicit phra...

56. Matt Gaetz Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz told The Daily Beast that he was also invited to be interviewed at Israel’s 70th birthday celebration for “Who is America?” but that he was a big fan of Baron C...

57-61. Philip Van Cleave, Trent Lott, Larry Pratt, Dana Rohrabacher, Joe Wilson. Gun rights advocate Philip Van Cleave led this commercial, with endorsements from other politicians and representatives. In it, Van ...

62. Bernie Sanders The Vermont Senator's interview with Billy Wayne Ruddick, Jr., Ph.D. was featured in the first episode of “Who is America?” Sanders was unamused as Baron Cohen’s character badgers him with quest...

63. Corinne Olympios The former "Bachelor" contestant was urged by Baron Cohen's Italian photographer character, Gio Monaldo, to put on a Hazmat suit and endorse his cause to arm child soldiers in Africa. She ...

64. Jason Spencer Baron Cohen, disguised as an ex-Israeli intelligence agent, convinced the Georgia state representative that pulling his pants down while shouting racial slurs would be an effective defense mechan...

65-66. Chip Limehouse and Bone Crusher In a dual interview, Baron Cohen's uber-liberal character Dr. Nira Cain (wearing an NPR shirt) corrects Atlanta rapper Bone Crusher when he identifies as "black," Cain saying...

67. Ness Lee Dr. Nira Cain (Baron Cohen) appears again at the end of the episode, spouting less-than-compelling insults at battle rapper Ness Lee. Lee seems underwhelmed with his unworthy foe until Cain raps "You ...

68. Shaun McCutcheon Alabama conservative Shaun McCutcheon rose to fame when he took his lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to the Supreme Court, arguing against a cap on party contributions. Baron Co...

69. Corey Lewandowski The former Trump campaign manager, notorious for his "Womp womp" comment referring to a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome being separated from her mother, remained guarded while being quest...

70. Jill Stein Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr. made another appearance, this time to argue with 2016 Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein about climate change, or in his words, "climax change." He pulled out a chart...

71. Howard Dean Baron Cohen's character got straight to the point in his interview with 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. He asked Dean if he thought Hillary Clinton was really a man, showing him...

72. Jan Brewer The former Arizona Gov. appeared in a particularly short, bizarre segment with OMGWhizzBoyOMG. Brewer essentially told a doll, that Baron Cohen's character was holding and voicing, that it could purcha...

73. O.J. Simpson Baron Cohen's rich Italian character, Gio, introduces his girlfriend to infamous ex-football player Simpson in the segment, and then plots ways to kill her after she leaves the room. Simpson, who ...

74. Mike Pence In "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," Borat crashed Mike Pence's speech at a Republican CPAC convention while disguised as President Trump and draping a woman (Borat's daughter in t...

75. Rudy Giuliani The former New York mayor's appearance in "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" caused quite a stir when it looked as though Giuliani had put his hand down his pants while lying on a hotel room bed in ...