US: Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen was punched by a man who didn't like his jokes, it emerged today
Cohen approached the passerby in a New York street and said in the style of his Kazakh alter ego: "I like your clothings. Are nice! Please may I buying? I want have sex with it." But the target of his joke didn't see the funny side and punched Cohen repeatedly in the face, according to the Sun.
Cohen had been on his way to a bar with British actor Hugh Laurie after the pair appeared on US TV show Saturday Night Live.
A friend said: "Sacha couldn't resist playing the fool as Borat, but picked on the wrong person. I guess this guy thought he was being attacked by someone unstable and lashed out." Cohen was said to be shaken, but did not receive any lasting scars.
This is not the first time Americans have failed to get the Borat joke. Two US students who appeared in the movie are suing Cohen, claiming they have suffered "mental anguish" after they were filmed making racist and sexist remarks.
The lawsuit claims that a production crew took the students to a bar to "loosen up" before participating in what they were told would be a documentary to be shown outside the US, and that they signed waivers after drinking heavily.
Neither was Cohen's behaviour funny to Dharma Arthur, who claims she was fired as a morning show producer in Jackson, Mississippi, after being duped into giving him air time. Cohen's live appearance, in which he said he had to go "urine" and hugged a bemused weatherman, led her life into a downward spiral, she said. She is seeking an apology.
Kathie Martin, who runs an etiquette school in Birmingham, Alabama, was also left out of the joke. Even though she was gracious and calm when Borat showed her nude photos of his son, Martin admitted she was "taken aback" by his routine during their on-camera meeting.
"Unless you can figure it out for yourself, you have no way of knowing you have been tricked into being part of a childish prank with an R rating attached," she said.
"And even if you figure it out, you've signed a release that Mr Cohen's people say relinquishes any rights on your part to take action against them."- (PA)