Apparently Kazakh officials are coming to the US to whine about Sacha Baron Cohen [warning: scary picture] to George Bush:
And now a movie of Borat’s adventures in the US has caused a diplomatic incident.
The opening scene, which shows Borat lustily kissing his sister goodbye and setting off for America in a car pulled by a horse, had audiences in stitches when it was first shown last week.
But the film, which has just premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, has prompted a swift reaction from the Kazakhstan government, which is launching a PR blitz in the States.
Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev is to fly to the US to meet President Bush in the coming weeks and on the agenda will be his country’s image.
I’m sure there are other things on the agenda, but still - talk about humorlessness!
The Kazakh government has previously threatened Baron-Cohen with legal action, for allowing Borat to, among other things, make fun of his homeland, demean women, slander gypsies and urge listeners to “Throw the Jew Down the Well.”
Anti-Borat hard-liners have pulled the plug on borat.kz, Borat’s Kazakhstan-based Website after his frequent displays of anti-Semitism and his portrayal of Kazakh culture.
[...]
Baron Cohen responded to Ashykbayev in character by posting a video on the Official Borat website.
In the video, Borat said, “In response to Mr. Ashykbayev’s comments, I’d like to state I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my Government’s decision to sue this Jew.
“Since the 2003 Tuleyakiv reforms, Kazakhstan is as civilized as any other country in the world.
“Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to eight years old.”
His blatant outpouring then prompted the Kazakh government to hire two public relations firms to counter the claims, and ran a four-page advertisement in The New York Times.
Things’re pretty bad when you’re such a backwater that one guy can have such an effect on the world’s opinion of you. Or to think you’re such a backwater that jokes like this need to be countered. I’m not sure which is worse…
You can see Borat’s complete response to the lawsuit here. I L’dMAO.
(via, where you can see the trailer)
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[...] Archenemy posts some news aboutBorat in America, which recycles some older information, but is none-the-less funny. [...]
[...] . [ ] Baron Cohen responded to Ashykbayev in character by posting … …READ MORE [...]
[...] Anti-Borat hard-liners have pulled the plug on borat.kz, Borat s Kazakhstan-based Website after his frequent displays of anti-Semitism and his portrayal of Kazakh culture. [ ] Baron Cohen responded to Ashykbayev in character by posting … …READ MORE [...]
[...] Anti-Borat hard-liners have pulled the plug on borat.kz, Borat s Kazakhstan-based Website after his frequent displays of anti-Semitism and his portrayal of Kazakh culture. [ ] Baron Cohen responded to Ashykbayev in character by posting … …READ MORE [...]
[...] Anti-Borat hard-liners have pulled the plug on borat.kz, Borat s Kazakhstan-based Website after his frequent displays of anti-Semitism and his portrayal of Kazakh culture. [ ] Baron Cohen responded to Ashykbayev in character by posting … …READ MORE [...]