Sacha Baron Cohen has a long history of stirring up trouble for the celebrities who appear in his movies, whether unwittingly or intentionally. Yesterday, it was former Mayor of New York City and current Presidential Advisor Rudy Giuliani who found himself at the center of conversation over his appearance in Borat 2. The film appears to show him going into a room with the main character’s underage daughter, asking for her number, touching her dress and later tucking his shirt back in. This led to a lot of speculation about what may have happened inside the room, but Giuliani fired back on social media yesterday to say he didn't do anything wrong.
In a series of Twitter posts, Rudy Giuliani said nothing inappropriate happened. He was tucking his shirt in after taking off the recording equipment and he actually called the police after realizing he was set up. You can check out a portion of his quote below…
The Borat video is a complete fabrication. I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment. At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar… In fact, the NY Post today reports "it looks to me like an exaggeration through editing." As soon as I realized it was a set up I called the police, which has been noted in THR article on July 8th.
There’s a bit more to the quote, but it’s mostly Giuliani talking about how this is all meant as a distraction to prevent him from continuing to investigate Presidential Candidate Joe Biden and promising more ahead on that front. We’ll leave that part to be analyzed by others, but as for what appears in the movie and what happened in the hotel room, it’s probably going to be up to viewers to decide for themselves. Our own Sean O’Connell wrote up the scene yesterday and called it “shocking.” He also said it contains “edits and audio cues that raise suspicion.” It’s a pretty safe bet that if Sacha Baron Cohen had more incriminating footage, it would have been used. Ultimately, we just don’t know because none of us were there. Regardless, it’s an uncomfortable scene to watch, and it’s one Giuliani clearly wishes he wasn’t a part of.
Unfortunately for Rudy Giuliani, this isn’t the first time he’s unwittingly found himself in the center of a scandal partially of his own making. The longtime politician allegedly butt dialed a reporter accidentally late last year and mistakenly left a long message in which he complained about the Biden family and talked about needing money. His social media team also accidentally uploaded an uncut version of a podcast interview earlier this month that included post-interview footage of him doing an Asian accent.
Borat 2, or technically Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, hits Amazon Prime on October 23rd. It has been almost fourteen years since the original film came out. The debut was a smash hit with critics and fans, and while reviews of the sequel haven’t been quite as positive, they have still, on the whole, been a very solid thumbs up.
