Ali G is a white cultural appropriator, says Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen has addressed criticism of Ali G, his controversial comedy character.
Sacha Baron Cohen sees Ali G as a "white cultural appropriator".
The 55-year-old actor has revived the character - a middle-class, faux-streetwise poseur from suburban England - for his new comedy film Ali G: Who Iz I?, and Sacha has addressed suggestions that Ali enforces racial stereotypes.
The actor told The Hollywood Reporter: "Ali G is a white cultural appropriator who steals from the musical artists that he admires.
"The reason Ali G says “West Side” is not because the Afro-Caribbean community in London was saying “West Side". Nobody there was. It’s because Tupac Shakur, who he admires, is saying “West Side". And so he is funny because he is delusional.
"He lives this boring, white middle-class life in a suburban town, and he deludes himself that he’s living in Compton, and that is the absurdity of Ali G.
"The core joke is that a white moron, possibly the stupidest man in the world, is interviewing a white expert or high-status politician, and that white expert or high-status politician believes that this imbecile played by me is real and that leads to comedy. And in my belief, it slightly undermines the power of the establishment."
Critics of the new movie have argued that it presents potentially dangerous stereotypes - but Sacha doesn't agree with that viewpoint.
He said: "Everyone is entitled to their own view. And a lot of the stuff on social media is orchestrated, and not necessarily orchestrated by people who really believe in what they’re saying.
"But when I did Da Ali G Show in America, the first people who gravitated to it were the black hip-hop community. The first GQ Award that I was given was given to me by Method Man and Redman.
"I did a series of adverts for the NBA directed by Spike Lee, who’s not naive about racial issues. They recognised these characters, these white cultural appropriators, and they found them funny. So, this notion of it being problematic hadn’t been raised for 20 years."
Sacha also described Ali G: Who Iz I? as an "anti-racist movie".
The London-born star explained: "I wanted to make sure that this was an anti-racist movie, which is why we were so concerned with having absolutely brilliant black writers on board and consulting with brilliant black cultural commentators."
Meanwhile, Sacha recently reflected on the decision to revive Ali, observing that the world has become "worse" over the last 20 years.
He told Time magazine: "All the prejudices my characters are designed to expose haven’t just lingered—they’ve metastasised. They’re fuelled by the greatest propaganda machine in history—social media—and now by its monstrous child, AI."
