Sacha Baron Cohen attends LA premiere of Ali G film amid UK cinema boycott petition

Right · 2Sacha Baron Cohen, 54, attended the Los Angeles premiere of his comeback film Who Iz I (also styled Ali G: Who Iz I?) on Wednesday 14 October in the yellow costume of his character Ali G, alongside Morgana Robinson, 44, who plays Ali's girlfriend Julie. 1 2 Right · 2The Amazon MGM film is Baron Cohen's directorial debut; it is due in UK cinemas on 23 October for a single weekend and is expected to move to Prime Video, with no streaming date confirmed. 2 1 Right · 2NewsCord, a UK news comparison and media monitoring platform, began a campaign the day after the August trailer asking cinemas worldwide to refuse to screen the film, saying the character and film enforce racist stereotypes. The Daily Mail reported 44,946 registrations and emails to 15 major chains; GB News, a day later, reported nearly 56,000 emails sent. 1 2

Right · 2Reports said Picturehouse would not screen the film, but Variety reported that the chain's email was a standard reply about titles not yet booked, and no decision had been made. 1 2 Right · 2Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, told Variety that cinemas are "not there to act as censors or arbiters of public taste" and that chains will decide on screenings based on likely audience response where the BBFC has given a certificate. 1 2 Right · 2Baron Cohen responded to the backlash on X: "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." A trailer also had him as Borat saying he was "disappointed to discover that it is not racist" and urging viewers to join the boycott. 1 2

Right · 1At the premiere, asked about the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, Baron Cohen as Ali G said: "The only merger that's happening tonight is me and Sydney Sweeney's babylons," slang for breasts. GB News reported that, after Variety shared the remark, social media users accused Baron Cohen of misogyny and called the humour outdated; the article quotes several users. 2 Right · 2Writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch argued in a Substack post that the character is out of step with contemporary Britain. The Daily Mail also quoted 2000 criticism from comedians Felix Dexter and Jeanette Winterson, as cited in NewsCord's campaign text. 2 1 Right · 2The film follows Ali G, who learns his girlfriend Julie is eight months pregnant and goes to America to revive his career; Ali G first appeared on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show in 1998 and was revived at intervals after a 2007 retirement announcement. 2 1