Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedian well accustomed to controversy — and his latest feature “Ali G: Who Iz I?” is shaping up to stir plenty.
The comedian’s guerilla-style filmmaking, which blurs the line between documentary, social satire and hidden-camera pranks, has ensnared countless powerful figures and enraged even more. Now his new movie resurrecting his British hip-hop character for a new generation, opening in theaters this October, is facing accusations of racism and even a boycott campaign from U.K. watchdog group NewsCord.
The email campaign company rallied its members into signing up to send emails to the world’s top theatrical chains to stop them from screening the film. The company’s site shows it has sent over 37,000 emails so far. Sony is distributing the film abroad while Amazon MGM Studios is handling its release stateside.
“Black British comedians called the character ‘an alibi for racism’ in 2000; Jeanette Winterson asked what separates it from the Black and White Minstrels; Kazakh and Arab organisations documented the harm of the catalogue behind it. Sony Pictures UK is selling it with the line ‘He iz back. We ain’t liable.’ The screens belong to the chains, and a booking is a choice,” the campaign’s homepage reads.
The campaign concludes: “Send a personalised letter to the booking desks of the remaining major chains in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Mexico and the Middle East, verified addresses only, asking each to leave the film off its screens.”
Previous reports claimed that Picturehouse, which describes itself as the “U.K.’s leading neighborhood cinemas café-bars, restaurants and live events,” had agreed not to screen the film. But its response to NewsCord saying they “currently do not have any plans to screen this film on its release” is reportedly the chain’s standard response for films not yet on their schedule and does not confirm their adherence to a boycott.
When Cohen shared the trailer for the film, he wrote, “In an age where a comedian’s career can be ended by a single un-PC joke, I thought I’d play it safe and bring this guy back.”
The whole point of Ali G, like all of Cohen’s characters, is to play the fool and use exaggerated tropes to expose the real-life xenophobia and racism that permeates the culture. (There was a reason that the latest “Borat” movie came out right before the presidential election in 2020.) Yes, Ali G is hopelessly out of date. That is part of the joke – and the broader intent behind the character.
A Danish theater chain wrote back to NewsCord, explaining why they would be showing the film.
“We understand very well that Sacha Baron Cohen’s satire, characters and means have sparked debate over the years, and that a figure like Ali G can be experienced as offensive, problematic or provocative for that individual. As a cinema, however, it is a fundamental principle for us to present a broad and diverse film program. Film is an art form that ranges from the broadly entertaining to the sharpy satirical and controversial. The cinema is a space for many types of film and here one will inevitably encounter works that provoke, challenge or repel,” the letter read.
And while Cohen’s announcement of the film has been met with heated reactions on his social media — many targeting the actor’s support of Israel but others calling out the new movie as the work of a “racist hack” — others showed support for the film, including prominent figures like Kevin Durant and A$AP Rocky.
“My brother Sacha Baron Cohen is back. Let’s go,” Durant wrote on Instagram.
“Ali G: Who Iz I?” was co-written, produced and directed by Cohen.
Amazon MGM Studios will release the film on Oct. 23. Representatives for the studio declined to comment on the campaign.
