Sacha Baron Cohen Sued For $95M By Roy Moore (The Underage Girls Guy From Alabama Who Rode A Horse To Vote For Himself)
In an episode of Sacha Baron Cohen’s much debated & buzzed-about Who Is America, Cohen plays “General Erran Morad,” a former Israeli anti-terror expert who uses a device to detect pedophiles. In this particular case, that device is used on his guest – Former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. Quick refresher on that guy, in case you want to know how that detection went:
The whole segment, which you can watch below, satirizes the circus that accompanied Moore & his campaign.
Following the episode, Moore & his wife Kayla are suing for $95M claiming Cohen made a mockery of them (though I’d say from all I’ve looked through, they’ve done a good job of that for themselves). From CBS News:
Former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore is suing comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, Showtime and CBS for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud, according to a complaint filed Wednesday afternoon.
Moore and his wife Kayla brought the suit in D.C. District court. They are asking for relief in excess of $95 million dollars, not including attorneys’ fees.
They allege that “Defendant Cohen, while in character, falsely and fraudulently induces unsuspecting victims, like unsuspecting Judge Moore to be interviewed under dishonest, unethical, illegal and false pretenses, for his works.” They add that “Cohen and his agents then set these unsuspecting victims up for ridicule and to severely humiliate them on film to promote his works and to generate large financial returns for himself.”
Cohen’s been sued many times by those who felt slighted or embarrassed in the wake of projects like Borat & Bruno, but most were thrown out right off the bat. Via Hollywood Reporter:
This is due in part to clever lawyering by Cohen’s attorneys, and in part due to longstanding legal doctrines protecting free speech and expression.
If I had to guess, I think this will follow suit. You can read the entire filing for the complaint for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress & fraud HERE.