Sacha Baron Cohen has thanked Donald Trump for "free publicity" after the US President slammed the actor's new Borat movie and branded him a "creep".
Trump is given a roasting in the sequel, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, while the President’s personal attorney has also reacted strongly to a scene in the movie in which he is duped by a young female reporter during a fake interview.
Read our review of Borat: Subsequent MovieFilm
14 years after the first Borat movie, Baron Cohen reprises his role as the Kazakh journalist and is sent on a mission to bolster his beleaguered motherland’s global standing by delivering a gift to US Vice President Mike Pence.
Asked if he's seen the #Borat2 footage and if he’s worried about security breaches, @POTUS replies: "I don’t know what happened. But years ago, you know, he (@SachaBaronCohen) tried to scam me and I was the only one who said no way. That’s a phony guy and I don’t find him funny."
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) October 24, 2020
Trump is firmly in Baron Cohen’s sights in the sequel and at one point he dons a padded suit, wig, and heavy make-up to impersonate the president at a conservative conference in Maryland.
"To me, he's a creep," adds @POTUS about @SachaBaronCohen. #Borat2
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) October 24, 2020
When asked by reporters on Air Force One if he saw the footage, Trump labelled Baron Cohen "a creep".
"I don't know what happened," he said, according to Voice of America White House bureau chief Steve Herman. "But years ago, you know, (he) tried to scam me and I was the only one who said no way... That's a phony guy and I don't find him funny."
"To me, he's a creep," Trump added.
Donald—I appreciate the free publicity for Borat! I admit, I don't find you funny either. But yet the whole world laughs at you.
— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) October 24, 2020
I’m always looking for people to play racist buffoons, and you’ll need a job after Jan. 20. Let’s talk!https://t.co/itWnhJ8TQF
Baron Cohen took to twitter in response, saying, "Donald - I appreciate the free publicity for Borat! I admit, I don't find you funny either. But yet the whole world laughs at you.
"I'm always looking for people to play racist buffoons, and you'll need a job after Jan. 20. Let's talk!"
The movie is available now on Amazon Prime Video.
