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Sacha Baron Cohen reprising Ali G after Channel 4 boss said 'you couldn't make it today'
The Jewish comedian is reportedly working on a new stand up tour with the Staines character
August 14, 2023 14:56
The Jewish comedian is reportedly working on a new stand up tour with the Staines character
August 14, 2023 14:56Jewish comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing back one of his most iconic characters, just weeks after a Channel 4 boss said it would never have been made today.
According to Hollywood magazine Variety, Baron Cohen is reportedly working on new standup material in which he'll reprise the role of Ali G, his iconic Staines-based character.
Speaking to Variety, a representative for Baron Cohen said:“As a SAG and WGA member he is supporting the ongoing strike alongside his fellow writers and actors,”
Last month, Channel 4's head of factual entertainment Alf Lawrie said: “You can’t make Ali G, Borat or Brass Eye now because the rules have changed.
“You can’t hoodwink people on the same grand scale. TV has become a slightly more regulated environment than it was 20 years ago.
“When you were making Borat 20 years ago, you could pretend quite seriously that he was from Kazakhstan and until it aired people had no idea otherwise.
“These days you can’t mislead in the same way.”
He added: “We’re far more respectful of our contributors now than we used to be.
“But it means the nature of some satire has changed.”
Baron Cohen was born in Hammersmith to Jewish parents, was catapulted into the spotlight on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show in 1998.
After the segment was warmly received by critics, the self-described “voice of da yoof” landed his own show on the broadcaster titled Da Ali G Show, which aired from 2000 to 2004.
Cohen, now an Oscar-nominated actor and comedian, performed the character as a wannabe rapper who adopted an exaggerated hip-hop vernacular to perplex real-life public figures including Donald Trump, Jacob Rees Mogg, and Newt Gingrich.
In 2022, Cohen appeared at the Kennedy Center as Borat to roast Kanye West) and the actor also was the keynote speaker at a 2019 Anti-Defamation League summit.
JNS contributed to this reporting.