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British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has apologized to the people of Kazakhstan for his depiction of Borat in his videos. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with host Josh Horowitz, he stated that he holds deep respect for Kazakhstan’s citizens and insisted that Borat «has nothing to do with Kazakhstan."
The comedian explained that the satirical project was never aimed at Kazakhstan, but rather exposed the deep-seated ignorance and stereotypes of American and European society.
«It was entirely about the ignorance of the people I was interacting with—those who were willing to believe that all this absurdity could happen in a place they had never heard of in their lives,» he noted.
Renewed discussion surrounding Sacha Baron Cohen was prompted by the upcoming film Ali G: Who Iz I?, centered on another of the actor's iconic personas, Ali G. Borat appeared in the comedy's second trailer.
In the promotional clip, he speaks on behalf of fictitious state agencies—the «Kazakh Film Commission» and the «Department of Language of Kazakhstan»—accusing Cohen of producing a racist movie. Borat claims that «Kazakhstan is very angry and will not show the film in either of its two cinemas.» In the end, he calls on behalf of the nation for a boycott of the comedy in British cinemas.
Borat Sagdiyev is one of Sacha Baron Cohen's most famous alter egos. The fictional Kazakh journalist travels across the United States, portraying Kazakhs as misogynistic, racist, and backward. Cohen's first public appearance as Borat took place in 2005 at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon.
«Since 2003, Kazakhstan has become as civilized a country as any in the world. Women can now ride inside buses, homosexuals are allowed to not wear blue hats, and the ''age of consent'' has been raised to eight,» Borat told MTV's audience of millions between award announcements. Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev condemned the routine at the time as a «display of vulgarity» and suggested Cohen might have been carrying out a political smear campaign against Kazakhstan.
In 2006, the first Borat movie hit theaters, grossing more than $260 million worldwide against an $18 million budget. The sequel premiered on October 23, 2020, on Amazon Prime Video.
The character has frequently triggered backlash among Kazakhs and caused multiple diplomatic and cultural controversies. Last summer, for example, men's clothing brand Shoqan apologized for an advertisement featuring Borat. The character's signature mankini became a popular stunt costume among foreign soccer fans who were arrested for wearing it at a match in Astana. Furthermore, the spoof of the country's national anthem featured at the end of the film caused a major scandal in 2012 when organizers at the World Shooting Championships in Kuwait mistakenly played the parody instead of the real anthem during the medal ceremony for Kazakh athlete Maria Dmitrienko.
