What Sacha Baron Cohen Must Do Next

Nov 07, 2026 10:00 AM
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What Sacha Baron Cohen Must Do Next
Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File
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Sacha Baron Cohen burned plenty of calories trying to get President Donald Trump kicked off of social media.

Sadly, his censorious instincts won the day, at least for a spell. The British comic is the target of the Woke censors of late, and he's none too pleased. His satirical targets are apparently off the mark, but he may be too cowardly to do what needs to be done next.

Turn his satirical sights on his native land.

Cohen, best known for playing the bumbling journalist Borat across film and TV projects, should have been fighting like mad to preserve speech in recent years.

Not so much.

Now, he's been the target of his leftists who see satirical comedians as villains, assuming they mock the wrong targets. Cohen's Ali G character — think an ignorant Brit who wants oh, so badly to be seen as hip-hop adjacent — is back with "Ali G: Who Iz I?"

The film's release sparked protests, some real, some orchestrated, suggesting Ali G is a racist artifact of the past. 

[NewsCord] published an op-ed characterizing Cohen’s work as “blackface” and focuses most of its advocacy efforts on coverage of the conflict in Gaza...NewsCord claims that its campaign has sent about 55,000 emails to pressure exhibitors to refuse to screen the film.

The efforts didn't stop the movie's theatrical rollout, but Amazon MGM, the studio behind the project, dramatically reduced its theatrical window.

Hmmm.


"Ali G: Who Iz I?" spent a New York Minute in theaters earlier this month before rocketing to Prime Video. Cohen got plenty of face time in the media during the rollout, bemoaning those censoring him and suggesting some attacks are due to his Jewish faith.

He's partially right. Jewish artists are being routinely targeted in recent months, including Michael Rapaport, Jerry Seinfeld and singer Matisyahu.

The far-left AV Club, an offshoot of The Onion, correctly noted Cohen's shtick is often focused on America's perceived ills, be it bigotry or racism. That, by extension, includes President Donald Trump and his GOP teammates, if his "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" sequel is any indication.

Cohen is paddling in predictable waters, but there's another target-rich environment he could tackle with either Borat, Ali G or perhaps a new character.

England's calamitous fall. 

Think the perils of unfettered immigration, a stagnating economy and, most important to an artist like Cohen, the clamping down on free speech.

The most recent, galling example? A British teen was arrested for posting a meme about a local politician tweaked to look like a rabbit. Yes, that offense sent coppers to the lad's home.

That's Orwellian, and it's not an isolated incident. Free speech is under assault across Great Britain, and very few British stars are lashing out against it.

John Cleese is, for one, and he recently got reported for his own critiques of radical Islam.

Shouldn't Cohen publicly have Cleese's back? What about everyday British citizens who have to watch what they say on social media or face the consequences?

That would take real courage, and Cohen is uniquely situated to speak up on their behalf. Instead, he targets Americans, President Trump and other "villains" that already have the Left's stamp of approval.

No wonder we've lost interest in Ali G, Borat and other characters from Cohen's once-fertile imagination. There's as edgy as a circle and hopelessly out of date.

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