Sacha Baron Cohen on Saturday infiltrated a far-right militia group’s rally in Olympia, Washington, and told a series of “racist and anti-Semitic” jokes while encouraging the crowd to participate, organizers of the event said.
Video of the incident spread rapidly, including lengthy footage of a heavily bearded bluegrass singer in overalls leading a portion of the crowd to sing along to lyrics about injecting Barack Obama, Dr. Anthony Fauci and CNN with the “Wuhan flu” — or chopping them up “like the Saudis do.”
The rally, which was billed as “March for Our Rights 3,” took place at Olympia’s Heritage Park and drew a crowd of about 500, Washington State Patrol troopers told The Olympian. In a Facebook post that was subsequently deleted, Yelm City Councilman James Blair identified the performer as Cohen, who has famously pranked right-wing political figures by dressing in disguise to satirize their views in films like “Borat” and the 2018 Showtime series “Who Is America.”
A rep for Cohen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Sacha Baron Cohen pulled a bulls— stunt at the March For Our Rights 3 event,” Blair said in his post. “He came on stage disguised as the lead singer of the last band, singing a bunch of racist, hateful, disgusting s—,” Blair wrote. “His security blocked event organizers from getting him off the stage, or pulling power from the generator. After the crowd realized what he was saying, and turned on him, his security then rushed the stage and evacuated them to a waiting private ambulance that was contracted to be their escape transport.”
In a subsequent Facebook post on Sunday, Blair wrote, “I am deeply ashamed of any individual who was singing along with the lyrics of this song, whether they were an actual attendee or a paid actor. I’m disgusted that Mr. Cohen turned a peaceful family event into a mockery. These individuals do not represent the event, it’s organizers, or the vast majority of those who attended. The messages in this song are disgusting, and I wholeheartedly stand against such tasteless and divisive behavior.”
Organizers of the rally, the 3% of Washington, who bill themselves as “rag-tag revolutionists,” also issued a Facebook statement denouncing the stunt. “We of the WA3% were appalled at the performance of an entertainer adorned in clown-face, who — much to our group’s mutual repugnance — voiced a series of racist and antisemitic jokes and songs, while on the stand. This display of disgusting antics was neither condoned nor accepted by WA3%, and we disavow any affiliation with this lamentable individual. Our ranks enjoy the membership of every race, religion, and creed, and such despicable behavior is NEVER allowed within our group, and if it ever arises, it causes the immediate dismissal of the perpetrator.”