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Ali G

Alistair Leslie Graham, better known as Ali G, is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. A faux-streetwise poseur from Staines, England, Ali G speaks in rude boy-style Multicultural London English and brags about coming up "in da heart of da Staines ghetto" and leading a local street gang, "Da West Staines Massiv." He conducts interviews with unsuspecting subjects who do not realise they have been set up.

Ali G first appeared as the "voice of da yoof" on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show in 1998, and he subsequently became the title character of Da Ali G Show in the early 2000s, and was also the title character of the film Ali G Indahouse. In a 2001 poll by Channel 4, Ali G was ranked eighth on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.

In a 2007 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Baron Cohen announced that Ali G, along with Borat (another fictional character made by Baron Cohen), had been retired. However, Ali G returned at the 2012 British Comedy Awards to accept Baron Cohen's Outstanding Achievement Award, causing controversy by making jokes about Kate Middleton and Jimmy Savile. Ali G returned to television with Ali G Rezurection in 2014. Rezurection features new footage of Ali G introducing old highlights of Da Ali G Show, while Borat reappeared for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm in 2020.

Development
Ali G is a fictional stereotype of a British suburban male "chav" also known as Alex; who imitates inner-city urban British hip hop culture and British Jamaican culture, particularly through hip hop, reggae, drum and bass and jungle music, as well as speaking in rude boy-style Multicultural London English from Jamaican Patois. Ali G was part of a group called the "West Staines Massiv", and grew up near Staines in Langley. He also lived part of his life in Staines.

Baron Cohen has stated that BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood was an influence on the development of his character. Westwood used to host Radio 1's Rap Show and became known for speaking in a Multicultural London English dialect. Ali G's middle-class credentials mirror Westwood's, as the latter was brought up in Lowestoft as a bishop's son. Prior to his character's first appearance on The 11 O'Clock Show, Baron Cohen had portrayed an early incarnation of him named MC Jocelyn Cheadle-Hume on a show he presented called F2F, which ran on the satellite channel Granada Talk TV. While in character, Baron Cohen chatted to a group of skateboarders and realised that people could be led to believe his character was real; he then filmed a number of segments which were ordered off-air by London Weekend Television.

History and appearances
Ali G, a faux-streetwise poseur with a deeply stereotypical view of the world, first came to prominence on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show as the "voice of da yoof" in 1998. He interviewed various public figures in the United Kingdom, always either embarrassing his interviewee by displaying a mixture of uninformed political incorrectness, or getting the interviewee to agree to some shocking inaccuracy or insult.

Other examples of his bold interviewing style include getting Lindsay Urwin, the Bishop of Horsham, to admit that God created the universe and then asking him, "And since then, [God]'s just chilled?" Ali G asked the Bishop about God's appearance, to which the Bishop replied, "Well, he's sort of Jesus-shaped." During an interview with James Ferman, former director of the British Board of Film Classification, Ali G asks whether his made-up vulgarities would restrict a film to an over-18 audience, and suggests that film censorship be performed by younger persons who understand contemporary slang. In an interview with the chairman of the Arts Council of England, Gerry Robinson, Ali G's first question was, "Why is the arts so – excuse me French, but – crap?"

Ali G appeared in the 2003 short film Spyz, directed by James Bobin. It showcases Ali G as James Bond in a series of inexplicably occurring action and sex scenes. In 2004, Ali G gave the commencement speech at Harvard.

Ali G was in a series of ads for the 2005–06 NBA season, in which he used his brand of off-kilter journalism to interview various NBA stars. The spots were directed by Spike Lee.

Ali G was also featured in the music video "Music" by Madonna as her limo driver. He complains that her "babylons" are not as big as they appear to be on TV and calls her "Maradona" when asking to be in her next video.

Baron Cohen received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2012 British Comedy Awards and appeared in character as Ali G to accept the trophy.

In 2015 Ali G appeared at the 88th Academy Awards. Baron Cohen did not tell the ceremony's producers beforehand that he would appear on stage as his Ali G character instead of himself. He and his wife, actress Isla Fisher, locked themselves in the bathroom for 40 minutes to secretly put on his costume, after telling people he had food poisoning.

Background
Ali G is the leader of a fictional gang called "Da West Staines Massif", who currently lives in his grandmother's garage in a semi-detached house at 36 Cherry Blossom Close, in the heart of the "Staines Ghetto". He was educated at what he calls "da Matthew Arnold Skool", which is a real school in Staines.

Staines, a commuter town to the west of London, is different from the inner city ghetto that Ali G claims. In the same comic vein, he also makes reference to stockbroker belt towns in the area, such as Egham, Langley and Englefield Green with which he contrasts Staines. Despite the incongruous nature of his hometown, he purports to exemplify inner city culture. Ali's full name is later revealed to be Alistair Leslie Graham (revealed in the eponymous film, much to his embarrassment).

Ali G speaks a comical patois in keeping with his delusions of being black with Jamaican ancestry and peppered with such catchphrases as "aight" or "aiii" (alright), "booyakasha", "big up yaself", "wagwaan", "west side", "batty boy", "respek", "for real", "punani", "check it", "wicked" and "keep it real". His trademark hand gesture closely resembles the "dip snap".

Criticisms
Although Baron Cohen has repeatedly stated that Ali G is a parody of suburban, privileged youth acting in a way that they think is typical of black people, some commentators have opined that the force of the humour is derived from stereotypes of blacks, not poseur whites. According to this view of the character, the suburban background written into Ali G's character serves as a false alibi. The sociologist Tara Alturi observed that, by presenting as racially ambiguous, Ali G both exploits minstrel show racial stereotypes for humour and ridicules white minstrel expropriation.

The comedian Felix Dexter has said that he appreciated the humour of an innocent ignoramus confronting an expert with neither understanding the other, but felt that "a lot of the humour is laughing at black street culture and it is being celebrated because it allows the liberal middle classes to laugh at that culture in a safe context where they can retain their sense of political correctness". Fellow comedian Victoria Wood criticised Baron Cohen's style of comedy, saying that his "endless setting up of victims" was "tiresome" and akin to "laughing at lunatics".

People interviewed by Ali G

 * Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930–), whom Ali G addresses as "Buzz Lightyear," former astronaut, and the second man to walk on the Moon: Ali asks him if he was "ever jealous of Louis Armstrong", Aldrin has to correct him and reminds him that it was in fact Neil Armstrong who landed on the Moon. Ali G also asks whether the "people on the Moon" were friendly or scared of Aldrin upon landing on the Moon. Ali insists that Aldrin should put conspiracy theorists straight, saying "what do you say to all of those conspiracy theorists who come up to you and say, does the Moon really exist?" He also believes that Aldrin was the first person to perform the moonwalk dance, not Michael Jackson.
 * David Alderdice, 43rd Lord Mayor of Belfast: Ali refers to him as the "Lord Mayor of Ireland" at the beginning of the interview. He also believed that Terry Wogan was part of the IRA.
 * John Gray, author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.
 * David Beckham, former football player, and Victoria Beckham, a member of the Spice Girls.
 * Tony Benn (1925–2014), former Labour MP for Chesterfield, Cabinet Minister and chairman of the Labour Party from 1971 to 1972. Benn is shocked at Ali's stubborn and cynical view of the world. During the interview, Ali expresses his view that the workers who went on strike in 1984 were lazy and pulling a "sickie", and that most people want to chill at home and watch TV instead of having to go to work. Ali suggests to Benn that celebrities and professional athletes such as Frank Bruno should become candidates, instead of barely known politicians who "probably sleep with horses". Benn wrote in his diary on the day of the interview that Ali G had, "no knowledge of history at all but... he was an intelligent guy"; on discovering that the interview was a hoax, he wrote, "it was a fraud to write and say you want to do an interview about young people and politics, then bring this chap along who is an actor and makes you look a proper charlie." Later, he wrote that Cohen had written to him to ask if he would take part in a new film he was making, saying that Benn had been the only person that he'd interviewed who had "dealt seriously with his loud, sexist, materialist image of youth". Benn refused on the grounds that, "You can't be a comedian and a serious politician." However, Benn did end his reply letter with, "You're my main man".
 * Rhodes Boyson (1925–2012), former Conservative Education Minister, who agreed with Ali G that the metric system should not be taught in schools because, "one deals in quarters and eighths of ounces".
 * Pat Buchanan (1938–), former White House Communications Director to President Ronald Reagan, political commentator and former presidential candidate: Ali makes an irrelevant comparison of lying to become United States President, to himself falsely claiming to work hard at McDonald's but instead admitted to Buchanan that he ate 15 McChicken sandwiches a day, sold marijuana and that he wore the costume of Ronald McDonald while having sex. During the interview, he mistakenly refers to WMD bombs as BLT sandwiches. Buchanan apparently assumes he is referring to bio-lethal toxins; but near the end, he asks Buchanan "is it ever worth fighting a war over sandwiches".
 * Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1922–2016), former Secretary General of the United Nations, mistakenly called 'Boutros Boutros Boutros Boutros Ghali' by Ali G. Boutros-Ghali clearly went so far as to participate in some of Ali G's notorious word games and providing the epilogue to the episode where, at Ali G's bidding, he tells youth viewers 'I am Boutros Boutros-Ghali; put down your guns and listen to Bob Marley.' In response to Ali G's perceived ignorance, Boutros-Ghali provides a detailed explanation about why Disneyland is not represented in the United Nations, and reveals which foreign languages sound comical to his ear.
 * Noam Chomsky (1928–), MIT professor and linguist: During this interview, Ali G is perplexed about the difference between the terms "bilingual" and "bisexual" after asking if his "4-year-old part-Bangladeshi and part-English cousin will grow up to speak both languages".
 * Jarvis Cocker (1963–), Pulp singer
 * Linda Cohn, ESPN anchor
 * Gaz Coombes, Supergrass singer
 * Paul Daniels (1938–2016), magician
 * Sam Donaldson (1934–), ABC news journalist for over 45 years: In the interview, Ali G confuses President Nixon's Watergate scandal with films Waterworld and Stargate, and adds that the media should make it clearer for younger people. At the end of the interview, Ali admits to not paying taxes.
 * Mohamed Al-Fayed (1929–2023), former owner of Harrods and former chairman of Fulham F.C.
 * Marlin Fitzwater (1942–), former White House Press Secretary to US presidents George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan: Ali asks Fitzwater "was it embarrassing working as a secretary, did it have the stigmata as working as a male nurse". Ali G expresses his belief that men who use the words "discussion" and "conflict" are homosexuals. Fitzwater ends the interview after calling Ali G an idiot due to Ali asking if he knows any secrets and implying that Hillary Clinton was a lesbian.
 * Jerome Friedman, MIT professor of physics and 1990 Nobel Prize winner
 * John Kenneth Galbraith, economist and public intellectual
 * Daryl Gates (1926–2010), former Los Angeles Police Chief: Shortly after the interview begins, Ali asks him "what was it like being the head of the NYPD?". After Gates corrects him, Ali blames a language barrier as the cause of the misunderstanding, adding "well you says tomato, I says potato". During the midst of the interview, Ali confuses O. J. Simpson for Homer Simpson. Ali asks for information regarding criminals who swallow condoms which contain drugs and pretends to write down the information given to him, implying that he will later use the information practically. At the end of the interview, Ali incorrectly refers to him as Bill Gates.
 * Newt Gingrich (1943–), former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives: At the very beginning of the interview, he spends nearly one minute asking Gingrich how to spell and pronounce his name. Ali expresses his concern that if a female ever became President of the United States then she would spend too much time buying facial products, shopping and new shoes, also saying that a female president would elect George Clooney and Brad Pitt as part of the cabinet administration. Gingrich replies "I think if you said that to most women who could be President, you'd be surprised how tough they are" and also citing Margaret Thatcher as one of the three best prime ministers of the 20th century. Ali is also worried that a female elected president would start crying if the U.S. were at war and that she would "get more and more hornier" if a rival did "bad things" to the U.S. as "women love bastards".
 * Neil Hamilton, former Conservative politician.
 * Kent Hovind (1953–), evangelist and Young Earth creationist: During the interview, Ali G repeatedly says "shame on you" to Hovind due to believing that he did not flush the toilet whilst backstage. Ali also believes that humans are descended from monkeys on the basis that Hovind admitted to eating a banana, according to Ali, his admission serves as proof. Ali then proceeds to shut down Hovind, telling him to "speak to the hand because the face ain't listening, yo".
 * Richard James Kerr (1935–), deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency to George H. W. Bush: Ali G asked Kerr what kind of punishment should suicide terrorists face, after blowing themselves up. He also expresses his belief to Kerr that threatening suicide bombers with 20 years in prison may act as a deterrent.
 * Glenn Hubbard, former professional baseball player
 * John Humphrys, BBC presenter / journalist
 * Derrick Hussey, publisher and proprietor of Hippocampus Press
 * Reed Irvine, founder of Accuracy in Media
 * Ernie Johnson Jr., sports broadcaster
 * Steve Kerr, former American professional basketball player who, according to Ali G, works on "TMT".
 * C. Everett Koop (1916–2013), former Surgeon General of the United States to George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan: during the interview, Ali cannot comprehend why his erection is not actually a bone. He accuses Dr. Koop of being a "player hater" when the doctor breaks the news that all people will eventually die, and tries to convince the Surgeon General that his deceased pet cat was actually human. Ali suggests removing the organs out of the human body and replacing them with a mobile phone. He also asks why the human heartbeat is "so old fashioned", and his "homies" would look after and respect their heart if they had a drum and bass heartbeat that they could relate to. Ali also asks the Surgeon General why all skeletons are involved in "evil stuff."
 * James Lipton (1926–2020), host of Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio. Ali G accuses Lipton of homosexual behavior because he cries while watching films. Lipton expresses that he hates the word "hoe" so Ali instead uses the word "bitches" to describe his opinion that women are better "actors" than men.
 * Ralph Nader (1934–), consumer activist and former US presidential candidate for the Green Party in 1996 & 2000: Ali wonders what is the big deal with saving the rainforest because he believes no one has ever lived there and there is not a KFC or McDonald's nearby. After discovering that people do live there, he believes that one would have to be crazy to live there due to the danger of a monkey defecating on a person's head. While talking about how to save money on electricity, unknown to Ali G, he admits to illegally rigging his home electrical meter and doing Nader a favor after he is "well negative about it".
 * Thomas J. Pickard, former acting FBI Director: Ali G asks Pickard if he knows what is in the basement of Studio 54, referring to the X-Files. After he acknowledges what he is implying, Ali hums the X-Files theme tune.
 * Gail Porter, television presenter
 * Sue Ramsey, Irish politician, Sinn Féin
 * Sally Jessy Raphaël, former talk show host, (who congratulated him for 'being himself')
 * Jacob Rees-Mogg (1969–), Conservative Party parliamentary candidate, investment banker and future MP for North East Somerset (2010–2024). Ali incorrectly addresses him as "Lord Rees-Mogg". He asks him "which class is Pakis in" and wonders if he impregnated the daughter of a lord, which class would the baby belong to. During the interview, he borrows a top hat from Rees-Mogg, believing he would be upper-class if he wore it, Rees-Mogg compares him to Lord Snooty.
 * Andy Rooney (1919–2011), of the CBS programme 60 Minutes, who repeatedly corrects Ali G's poor grammar, and responds angrily to Ali G's foolish questions about the current state of the media. (It is worth noting that Ali G wonders whether the media would ever publish the results of a presidential election early; while Rooney dismisses this idea as preposterous, this is precisely what the Chicago Daily Tribune did in 1948, falsely reporting that Thomas E. Dewey had defeated Harry S. Truman). Rooney thus furiously and abruptly ends his interview, claiming a busy schedule. Ali G then characterizes Rooney's treatment of him as "racialist," using a British variant of the word "racist," the former of which Rooney (an American) does not recognize as any type of real word.
 * Charles Schultze, former Chief Economic Advisor to President Jimmy Carter
 * Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Advisor and Air Force General
 * Tomasz Starzewski (1961–), fashion designer: At the very beginning of the interview, Ali G thinks Starzewski's suit is made out of vaginal hair. Starzewski was offended when Ali asked if he would make clothes for any woman, "even if she has nice personality but a face like a rottweiler's ass", believing that it would bring on shame for Starzewski's clothing brand if he decided to make clothes for unattractive women. At the end of the interview, Ali assumed that he was happy when fashion designer, Gianni Versace, was murdered as "there was less competition".
 * Teddy Taylor (1937–2017), former MP for the Conservative Party: Ali expresses his belief that most countries in Europe are "crap countries", he also thinks it is racist as a result of Jamaica not being part of Europe. He asks Taylor if himself will still be able to buy pornography "with dogs and women" and if that particular category will be available in the UK. At the end of the interview, Ali G suggests that if people want to join Europe then they should have a "brian", referring to a human brain.
 * Dick Thornburgh (1932–2020), former U.S. Attorney General and governor of Pennsylvania. While both men are discussing murder and the law, Ali believes it is justifiable to murder someone "if they call your mum or nana a hoe". Ali has a hard time distinguishing the meaning of a "hung jury" and an erection, Thornburgh laughs and wishes he made it clearer for Ali. In the interview, he wonders if "whoever smelt it deal it", in reference to farting, is a crime in the United States. He also believes if a prisoner on the death penalty is given a free meal then the person would be able to eat forever, subsequently avoiding the execution.
 * Edwin Meese (1931–), former United States Attorney General and counselor to President Ronald Reagan. Ali G is baffled that is illegal to steal a person's television but not their girlfriend, implying that a girlfriend should become property and even suggesting that the government should do something about it. After Meese discovers that he has been pranked, he agrees to say "I was attorney general, my name is Meese, I say go to college and don't carry a piece."
 * Stansfield Turner (1923–2018), former director of Central Intelligence Agency: After Turner explains what the CIA stands for, Ali asks "so does it help if you is intelligent if you want to get in", Ali believes it is "racialist" that the CIA will not hire stupid people. His concern and definition of racist is "ain't it unfair for those people who will feel bad inside if you won't allow them in there", Turner immediately laughs and Ali questions his reason for laughing. Turner politely remarks that Ali is intelligent after asking if he could ever join the CIA. Ali believes that female undercover CIA agents have cameras attached to their vagina and that they wear uniforms whilst on special missions. At the end of the interview, he questions "how do we actually know Louie Armstrong was actually stood on the moon", and he expresses his belief to Turner that Kevin Costner knew who murdered President JFK.
 * Donald Trump (1946–), real estate developer and reality TV presenter; 45th president of the United States of America. In the interview lasting under two minutes, Ali G proposes a business idea to Trump: arguing that, although ice cream is "the most popular thing in the world", it is flawed due to the ease with which it melts. Trump suggests that Ali is pitching him a "drip-proof ice cream": which Ali denies, though praises the idea and urges Trump not to release such a product, to which he complies stating "I promise you I won't". Ali proceeds to pitch him the "ice cream glove": a piece of hand-wear which Ali believes will prevent ice cream from dripping on one's hands during consumption, to which Trump replies "well, it sounds like a good idea and I hope you make a lot of money" before walking off the set.
 * Lindsay Urwin, the Bishop of Horsham.
 * Gore Vidal (1925–2012), author and essayist (whom Ali G mistook for Vidal Sassoon).
 * Christine Todd Whitman (1946–), first female and former New Jersey governor and United States Environmental Protection Agency administrator: Ali is concerned about solar energy and worries that the sun will run out of energy and fuel if humans continue to use solar energy, he adds that Alaska has already "overused" the sun as "there is like darkness for months every year". After asking why the ocean is dirty, his proof is that fishes and whales are defecating too much and that humans should tell the fish not to defecate in the water.
 * Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician, Democratic Unionist Party.
 * Naomi Wolf (1962–), former political advisor to Bill Clinton and Al Gore, author and feminist: Ali expresses his concern that if women are granted human rights in the workplace then they will start asking for human rights at home. He also adds that men are the best cooks in the world and uses Colonel Sanders and Ronald McDonald as examples, compared to "Wendy"; the mascot of Wendy's Fast-food Restaurant, Wolf surprisingly agrees with him. Ali baits Wolf by expressing his view that women have better job opportunities than men, such as lap dancers, extras in music videos and strippers. He gives Wolf a "compliment" by saying that she could possibly work as a prostitute due to her attractiveness.
 * Heinz Wolff (1928–2017), scientist and former emeritus professor of bioengineering at Brunel University: Ali asks if "knob enlargements" are in correlation with science. He also asks "is infinite a number" and is unconvinced by Wolff's explanation, repeatedly saying "million" and "billion" and asking if it is smaller than the given numbers. Wolff says that he could always add 1 to each given number, Ali ends the interview by saying "and that number is infinity?" To which Wolff replies 'no'.
 * Professional basketball players Steve Nash (who was an award-winning player "MP3" according to Ali G and unable to speak proper English due to being Canadian), Kobe Bryant (whom he asks about the number of springs in a basketball), Ben Wallace (who he accuses of "playa-hating"), Shaquille O'Neal (whom he argued with about the meaning of the NBA, Ali thinking it stood for Nationwide Basketball Society), Tim Duncan (from whom he tried to get a pair of free trainers), Robert Horry, Dwyane Wade (who he did not realise was an NBA player, claiming he had just "sneaked in" to "hang with mah man Shaquille O'Neal"), Richard Jefferson (whom he called Thomas Jefferson's son), Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller.

Discography

 * "Me Julie" (2002), single with Shaggy from the soundtrack to the film Ali G Indahouse.

In popular culture

 * In an episode of the MTV clay animated series Celebrity Deathmatch, titled "Night of Comedy Comeback", there is a fight to the death between Ali G and Jamie Kennedy. The fight ended with Jamie slashing Ali G's stomach open with his own necklace.
 * He is referenced in songs such as "Audacity" by Stormzy, "Country Star" by AJ Tracey, and "Post Verified Lifestyle" by JPEGMAFIA.
 * He is shown in the opening sequence of The Big Short.

title: Ali G


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Meliaceae

Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales.

They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarpous, apparently bisexual (but actually mostly cryptically unisexual) flowers borne in panicles, cymes, spikes or clusters. Most species are evergreen, but some are deciduous, either in the dry season or in winter.

The family includes about 53 genera and about 600 known species, with a pantropical distribution; one genus (Toona) extends north into temperate China and south into southeast Australia, another (Synoum) into southeast Australia, and another (Melia) nearly as far north. They most commonly grow as understory trees in rainforests, but are also found in mangroves and arid regions.

The fossil record of the family extends back into the Late Cretaceous.

Uses
Various species are used for vegetable oil, soap-making, insecticides, and highly prized wood (mahogany).

Some economically important genera and species belong to this family:
 * Azadirachta indica, neem tree (India)
 * Carapa: includes the "crabwood trees" e.g. Carapa procera (South America and Africa)
 * Cedrela odorata Central and South America; timber also known as Spanish-cedar
 * Entandrophragma: includes sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum), and "utile" or "sipo" (E. utile) of tropical Africa
 * Guarea, the genus of Bossé or "pink mahogany", includes: G. thompsonii and G. cedrata (Africa)
 * Khaya includes: Ivory Coast Mahogany and Senegal Mahogany (tropical Africa)
 * Lansium domesticum, lanzones, grown for its edible fruit in Southeast Asia
 * Melia azedarach, Chinaberry or white cedar (Indomalaya and Australasia)
 * Sandoricum koetjape, santol, grown for its edible fruit in Southeast Asia and South Asia
 * Swietenia is the classic "mahogany" genus from the tropical Americas
 * Toona: the genus of "toon tree" species (tropical Asia, Malesia, and Australia), especially Toona ciliata

Genera
58 genera are currently accepted.

The family is divided into two subfamilies, Cedreloideae and Melioideae, which are supported by phylogenetic evidence.

Subfamily Cedreloideae
This is also known as subfamily Swietenioideae.

• tribe Cedreleae

• Cedrela P.Browne – Americas

• Toona M.Roem. - Asia

• other tribes and genera:

• Capuronianthus J.-F.Leroy

• Carapa Aubl.

• Chukrasia A.Juss.

• Entandrophragma C.DC.

• Khaya A.Juss.

• Lovoa Harms

• Neobeguea J.-F.Leroy

• Pseudocedrela Harms

• Schmardaea H.Karst.

• Soymida A.Juss.

• Swietenia Jacq.

• Xylocarpus J.Koenig

Subfamily Melioideae
• tribe: Aglaieae

• Aglaia Lour.

• Lansium Corrêa

• Reinwardtiodendron Koord.

• - related genera:

• Chisocheton Blume

• Didymocheton Blume

• Dysoxylum Blume ex Raspail

• Epicharis Blume

• Goniocheton Blume

• Prasoxylon M.Roem.

• Pseudocarapa Hemsl.

• Sphaerosacme Wall. ex M.Roem.

• tribe: Guareeae - Africa

• Guarea Allemão ex L.

• Heckeldora Pierre

• Leplaea Vermoesen

• Neoguarea (Harms) E.J.M.Koenen & J.J.de Wilde

• Ruagea H.Karst.

• Turraeanthus Baill.

• tribe: Melieae

• Melia L.

• Azadirachta A.Juss.

• tribe: Sandoriceae

• Sandoricum Cav.

• tribe: Turraeeae

• Calodecaryia Leroy

• Humbertioturraea J.-F.Leroy

• Munronia Wight

• Naregamia Wight & Arn.

• Nymania Lindb.

• Turraea L.

• - related genera:

• Anthocarapa Pierre

• tribe: Trichilieae

• Astrotrichilia (Harms) T.D.Penn. & Styles

• Cipadessa Blume

• Ekebergia Sparrm.

• Heynea Roxb.

• Lepidotrichilia (Harms) T.D.Penn. & Styles

• Malleastrum (Baill.) J.-F.Leroy

• Owenia F.Muell.

• Pseudobersama Verdc.

• Pseudoclausena T.Clark

• Pterorhachis Harms

• Trichilia P.Browne

• Walsura Roxb.

• - related genera:

• Quivisianthe Baill.

• tribe: Vavaeeae

• Vavaea Benth.

• tribe unassigned:

• Aphanamixis Blume

• Cabralea A.Juss.

• Synoum A.Juss.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Meliaceae


text:
Talk:List of Italian-language poets

Untitled
why just these poets???? Zisa
 * Because we should make an article for everyone of those we list, so let's start making articles about these.
 * If you eventually were meaning "why not Benni too", it is because there are many others, objectively poets, that still are waiting to be listed. I like Benni too, but in his field. - Gianfranco

no i don't like benni (ma chi è???) but i meant... we should add moooore poets ... (soprattutto di quelli isolani) ... Zisa
 * Ok, Ignazio Buttitta was added to the list. Guess who's going to write the article? :-))) - Gianfranco

 * How about some poet from Sicilian School for a start? Did you know that Frederick II was a Sicilian poet? --Wikipedius 18:48, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

cleaned up the dead links. There should not be a listing if there is no article, in my opinion. I left the names though as I wonder if they should be deleted until an article is written. Also why no dates on the authors??

 * Cielo d'Alcamo
 * Pellegatta Alberto
 * Guittone d'Arezzo
 * Rinaldo d'Aquino
 * Angelo Barile
 * Bruno Barilli
 * Luigi Bartolini
 * Matteo Boiardo (Epic poet, 1441-94)
 * Guido dalle Colonne
 * Vincenzo Cardarelli
 * Girolamo Comi
 * Franco Fortini
 * Luca Ghiselli
 * Lapo Gianni
 * Guido Gozzano
 * Margherita Guidacci
 * Alda Merini
 * Carlo Porta (Milanese dialect)
 * Giuseppe Villaroel
 * Cesare Vivaldi
 * Pier della Vigna

WayneRay 03:41, 8 May 2006 (UTC)WayneRay

Proposed deletion
I am not sure of the utility of this page when the automatically generated page "Category:Italian_poets" appears to be much more complete and this does not add anything... --Goochelaar 10:37, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Well, poets can be categorized or kept in lists according to two complementary principles: their nationality and the language they're writing in. Here we have List of Italian language poets in Category:Lists of poets by language which would actually correspond to Category:Italian-language poets in Category:Poets by language which does not yet exist, while Category:Italian_poets is part of Category:Poets by nationality for which no corresponding list Category:Lists of Italian poets in Category:Lists of poets by nationality exists. Tikiwont 13:40, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

 * Thanks for clarifying things. Do you think that a category Category:Italian-language poets would be appropriate? I find a list like the present quite unmaintainable and far less useful than a category. How do I proceed to create a category? Do I just create it like any other page, and then begin populating it? (By the way, but this is beside the point, the sets of Italian poets and of Italian-language poets are almost identical...) --Goochelaar 23:23, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

 * I think such a category would be appropriate as Italian is one language that is not strictly associated with one nationality. You can create it by simply opening above red link and study the source of say Category:Dutch-language poets as a similar example. Essentially a category contains usually just a small definition, a link to an overview article such as Italian poetry (if exists) and its parent categories. It is populated indirectly by adding to the respective articles, lists or other categories, say e.g. to Ezra Pound or this list here. Other candidates might be Swiss poets writing in Italian. Following the Dutch example we can also include Category:Italian_poets as subcategory.

 * Another question is what to do about the (now deprodded) list. It might still have some potential if it was more structured (e.g by period, dialect etc. --Tikiwont 11:27, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:List of Italian-language poets


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Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (סָשָׁה נֹעַם בָּרוֹן כֹּהֵן; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor, screenwriter and film producer. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen. At the 2012 British Comedy Awards, Baron Cohen received the Outstanding Achievement Award and accepted the award in-character as Ali G. In 2013, he received the BAFTA Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy. In 2018, The Times named him among the 30 best living comedians.

Beginning his career in television, Baron Cohen was named Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards for The 11 O'Clock Show. He created and starred as his character Ali G in Da Ali G Show (2000–2004), receiving two BAFTA Awards. His next television project, Who Is America? (2018) for Showtime, saw him nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy. In 2019, he portrayed Eli Cohen in the limited series The Spy for OCS and Netflix, for which he received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.

Baron Cohen has produced and/or performed in comedic films, such as Ali G Indahouse (2002), Borat (2006) and its sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Brüno (2009), and The Dictator (2012). He has also appeared in dramatic films including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Hugo (2011), Les Misérables (2012), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020). In 2016, he starred in Grimsby and co-starred in Alice Through the Looking Glass. His voice acting roles include King Julien XIII in the Madagascar film series (2005–2012) and Uncle Ugo in Luca (2021).

Baron Cohen has two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, three Golden Globe Award nominations, resulting in two wins for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his work in the feature film Borat and its sequel. In 2021, he received Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his performance as Abbot "Abbie" Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7. He has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Actors Branch since 2008.

Early life
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen was born into a Jewish family in the Hammersmith area of London on 13 October 1971. His mother, photographer Daniella (née Weiser), was born in British Mandatory Palestine in 1939. His father, editor-turned-clothing store owner Gerald "Jerry" Baron Cohen (1932–2016), was born into a Belarusian Ashkenazi Jewish family in London and grew up in the Welsh town of Pontypridd. Baron Cohen's paternal grandfather, Morris Moses Cohen, added "Baron" to his surname. His maternal grandmother, Liesel (née Levi), lived in Haifa and trained as a ballet dancer in Germany before fleeing the Nazis in 1936. He has two older brothers: Erran, a composer with whom he often collaborates, and Amnon. His cousins include autism researcher Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, playwright Dan Baron Cohen, and filmmaker Ash Baron-Cohen.

Baron Cohen was first educated at the independent Catholic St Columba's College in St Albans, before moving on to attend the independent Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Elstree. He then studied history with a focus on antisemitism at Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1993 with upper-second-class honours. As an undergraduate, he wrote his thesis on the role of Jewish activists in the American civil rights movement. He was a member of the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, where he performed in shows such as Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as acted in shows with the Labour youth movement Habonim Dror. He played the cello while growing up, and made his television debut as a cellist on Fanfare for Young Musicians.

Early roles
Baron Cohen grew up as a fan of Monty Python and Peter Cook, but his greatest comedic influence was Peter Sellers, whom he saw as "this incredibly realistic actor, who was also hilarious and who managed to bridge the gap between comedy and satire". Known for portraying a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, Sellers was referred to by Baron Cohen as "the most seminal force in shaping [his] early ideas on comedy". After leaving university, Baron Cohen worked for a time as a fashion model. By the early 1990s, he was hosting a weekly programme on Windsor cable television's local broadcasts with Carol Kirkwood, who later became a BBC weather forecaster. In 1995, Channel 4 was planning a replacement for its series The Word, and disseminated an open call for new television presenters. Baron Cohen sent in a tape of himself, which caught the attention of a producer. Baron Cohen hosted Pump TV from 1995 to 1996.

In 1996, Baron Cohen began presenting the youth chat programme F2F for Granada Talk TV and had a small role in an advertisement for McCain Microchips, as a chef in a commercial entitled "Ping Pong". He took clown training in Paris, at the École Philippe Gaulier, studying under master-clown Philippe Gaulier. Of his former pupil, Gaulier says: "He was a good clown, full of spirit" while Baron Cohen remarks of Gaulier, "Without him, I really do doubt whether I would have had any success in my field". Baron Cohen made his first feature film appearance in the British comedy The Jolly Boys' Last Stand (2000). Also in 2000, he played the part of Super Greg for a series of TV advertisements for Lee Jeans; the advertisements never aired, but the website for Super Greg created an internet sensation.

Ali G

Baron Cohen appeared during two-minute sketches as his fashion reporter Brüno on the Paramount Comedy Channel during 1998. He shot to fame with his comic character Ali G, a fictional stereotype of a British suburban male "chav" who imitates urban black British hip hop culture and British Jamaican culture, as well as speaking in rude boy-style English with borrowed expressions from Jamaican Patois. Hailing from Staines (a suburban town in Surrey, to the west of London), Ali G started appearing on the British television show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4, which first aired on 8 September 1998. A year after the première of the show, GQ named Baron Cohen comedian of the year. He won Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards, and at the British Academy Television Awards he was nominated for Best British Entertainment Performance.

Da Ali G Show began in 2000, and won the BAFTA for Best Comedy in the following year. Also in 2000, Baron Cohen as Ali G appeared as the limousine driver in Madonna's 2000 video "Music", directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who was also responsible for directing the titles for Da Ali G Show. Baron Cohen is a supporter of the UK charity telethon Comic Relief, which is broadcast on the BBC, and as Ali G interviewed David Beckham and wife Victoria in 2001.

In a 2001 Channel 4 poll Ali G was ranked eighth on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. In 2002, Ali G was the central character in the feature film Ali G Indahouse, in which he is elected to the British Parliament and foils a plot to bulldoze a community centre in his home town, Staines. His television show was exported to the United States in 2003, with new episodes set there, for HBO.

At the 2012 British Comedy Awards, 13 years after winning Best Newcomer at the 1999 Comedy Awards, Baron Cohen accepted the Outstanding Achievement Award from Sir Ben Kingsley in the guise of Ali G, and stated: "I is grown up now. I ain't living in my nan's house any more. I is living in her garage." In 2013, he received the BAFTA Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy.

Ali G's interviews with notable figures (especially politicians) gained notoriety partly because the subjects were not aware that Ali G, rather than being a real interviewer, was a comedic character. According to Rolling Stone magazine, Baron Cohen would always enter the interview area dressed as Ali G, carrying equipment while acting like an inconspicuous crew member. The crew would be accompanied by a man in a suit and tie, leading the subject to believe that this was the person who would interview them. Baron Cohen, as Ali G, would sit down to ask the interviewee some preliminary questions to give them the impression that this was a test run before the well-dressed man conducted the real interview; this continued until a few moments before the cameras started filming, revealing the suited man as the director and Ali G as the interviewer, granting Baron Cohen the element of surprise as the interviewee would be less likely to opt out of the interview so close to its start.

Borat Sagdiyev
The Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev was first developed for short skits on F2F on Granada Television in the UK that Baron Cohen presented in 1996–1997, with the character at this time being known as Alexi Krickler. The character remained dormant while Baron Cohen concentrated on his Ali G persona, but with the subsequent success of Ali G, Baron Cohen revisited his Borat character. The character was featured in segments of Da Ali G Show. Borat's sense of humour derives from his mocking of society through outrageous sociocultural viewpoints, his deadpan violation of social taboos and use of vulgar language and behaviour.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, a feature film with Borat Sagdiyev at the centre, was screened at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and released in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2006, in the United States on 3 November 2006 and Australia 23 November 2006. The film follows Sagdiyev as he and his colleague Azamat Bagatov travel the US to produce a documentary about life in the country, as all the while Sagdiyev attempts to enter into marriage with celebrity Pamela Anderson. The film is a mockumentary which includes interviews with various Americans that poke fun at American culture, as well as sexism, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism and jingoism. It debuted at the No. 1 spot in the US, taking in an estimated $26.4 million in just 837 theatres averaging $31,600 per theatre.

Baron Cohen won the 2007 Golden Globe for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy, his sixth such award. Although Borat was up for "Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy", the film lost to Dreamgirls. On 23 January 2007, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He shared his nomination with the film's co-writers, Ant Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips.

Aside from the comic elements of his characters, Baron Cohen's performances are interpreted by some as reflecting uncomfortable truths about his audience. He juxtaposes his own Jewish heritage with the anti-Semitism of his character Borat.

In 2007, Baron Cohen published a travel guide as Borat, with dual titles: Borat: Touristic Guidings To Minor Nation of U.S. and A. and Borat: Touristic Guidings To Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. On 21 December 2007, Baron Cohen announced he was retiring the character of Borat. After the release of Borat, Baron Cohen said he would retire Borat and Ali G because the public had become too familiar with the characters. After the release of Brüno, he said he would retire that character.

The character was brought back on a 2018 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and appears in the 2020 sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, for which he won another Golden Globe Award, as well as the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors where he did a standup routine as Borat for the induction of U2.

Brüno Gehard
Another alter ego Sacha Baron Cohen performed as is "Brüno", a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion show presenter who often lures his unwitting subjects into making provocative statements and engaging in embarrassing behaviour, as well as leading them to contradict themselves, often in the same interview. Brüno's main comedic satire pertains to the vacuity and inanity of the fashion and clubbing world. Brüno asks the subjects to answer "yes or no" questions with either "Vassup" (What's up) or "Ich don't think so" (I don't think so); these are occasionally substituted with "Ach, ja!" (Ah yes!) or "Nicht, nicht" ("Nicht" means "no" or "not" in German). In one segment on Da Ali G Show, he encouraged his guest to answer questions with either "Keep them in the ghetto" or "Train to Auschwitz".

In May 2009, at the MTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen appeared as Brüno wearing a white angel costume, a white jockstrap, white go-go boots, and white wings; and did an aerial stunt where he dropped from a height (using wires) onto Eminem. Baron Cohen landed with his face on Eminem's crotch and with his crotch in Eminem's face, prompting Eminem to exit the venue with fellow rappers D12. Eminem later admitted to staging the stunt with Baron Cohen.

After an intense bidding war that included such Hollywood powerhouses as DreamWorks, Sony, and 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures won and paid a reported $42.5 million for the film rights to a collection of interviews Baron Cohen performed as the character Brüno. To create these interviews a number of shill companies and websites were created to draw potential interviewees by creating an illusion of legitimacy. The film was released in July 2009.

Admiral General Aladeen
Baron Cohen's 2012 film, The Dictator, was described by its press as "the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed". Baron Cohen played Admiral General Aladeen, a dictator from a fictional country called the Republic of Wadiya. Borat and Brüno film director Larry Charles directed the film. The main target of the film's satire was Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was still alive when the film was written. The producers of the film were concerned it would anger Gaddafi, possibly even resulting in a terrorist attack, so they released deliberate misinformation saying that the film was loosely based on a romance novel written by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

On 26 February 2012, Baron Cohen claimed he was banned from attending the 84th Academy Awards in his role as Admiral General Aladeen but the rumour was denied by the Academy, saying "we haven't banned him, he is lying" but made it clear that "Cohen is not welcome to use the red carpet as a platform for a promotional stunt". Baron Cohen eventually appeared at the awards' red carpet with a pair of uniformed female bodyguards, holding an urn which he claimed was filled with the ashes of Kim Jong-il. The "ashes", which Baron Cohen admitted to Howard Stern on the Tuesday, 8 May 2012 episode of The Howard Stern Show was flour, were "accidentally" spilt onto Ryan Seacrest.

Who Is America?
Baron Cohen portrays various characters in Who Is America?, including Erran Morad, an Israeli anti-terrorism expert. The character is referred to as a colonel (and later captain, general, major, sergeant, brigadier, sergeant corporal and lieutenant) in the Israeli military and a former agent of Mossad (or "not in the Mossad," as he often interjects). Before Who Is America? aired on Showtime, some conservative public figures made statements saying that Baron Cohen had deceived them while in character. Hours before the premiere, Showtime uploaded the "Kinderguardians" segment on their YouTube channel, in which Morad explains to Philip Van Cleave, the president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, of the proposal of a new program where children ages 3 to 16 are armed with guns. He also interviews other conservatives, such as Dana Rohrabacher, Joe Wilson, and Joe Walsh, who are openly supportive. Only Matt Gaetz expresses skepticism of Morad's proposal and declines to be in his video.

In the second episode, Morad teaches Jason Spencer, a Republican state representative from Georgia, how to detect and repel terrorists by taking pictures up a woman's burqa with a selfie stick, walking backwards while baring his buttocks, and yelling racial epithets. After the airing of the episode, Spencer initially refused to step down, stating that he was exploited by the producers. In May 2018, Spencer lost his primary to a political novice, Steven Sainz, but was expected to serve the rest of his term until November. He eventually did step down on 31 July 2018, leaving the seat vacant.

Baron Cohen has denied Who is America? will return for a second season, noting the publicity surrounding the show and his interviews would make it harder for him to dupe guests.

In 2018, The Times named him among the 30 best living comedians.

Other work
Baron Cohen guest-starred in the fifth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, with Dustin Hoffman, as a guide to Heaven. He also provided the voice of the ring-tailed lemur king, King Julien, in DreamWorks Animation's film series, Madagascar, and appeared as Will Ferrell's arch rival, the French Formula One speed demon Jean Girard, in the hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). He also appeared alongside Johnny Depp in the film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) as Signor Adolfo Pirelli, co-starred in Martin Scorsese's adventure film Hugo (2011), and portrayed Thénardier in the 2012 film version of the musical Les Misérables. He appeared as a BBC News Anchor in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013).

Baron Cohen has twice presented the MTV Europe Music Awards, first as Ali G on 8 November 2001, in Frankfurt, Germany, and then as Borat on 3 November 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal. Baron Cohen appeared out of character to accept an award at the British Comedy Awards in December 2006. He said at the time that Borat could not make it to the awards as "he's guest of honour at the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran", referring to the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.

In September 2010, representatives for Baron Cohen confirmed that he was set to play Freddie Mercury in the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic about the rock singer. He dropped out of the project in July 2013, citing "creative differences" between him and the surviving members of Queen. Queen guitarist Brian May later said that even though the band and Baron Cohen were on good terms, they felt that his presence would be "distracting". The role was later played by Rami Malek. Baron Cohen shot a spread with model Alessandra Ambrosio for Marie Claire magazine to promote the film Brüno. In 2010, Baron Cohen guest-starred in The Simpsons episode, "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed", as Jakob, a quick-tempered Israeli tour guide.

In 2012, Baron Cohen and his production company Four By Two Films signed a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures, and the deal was renewed in 2014 for three years and a two-film commitment. In Baron Cohen's Grimsby (2016; The Brothers Grimsby in the US), he plays the football hooligan brother of a British MI6 spy. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a failure at the box office.

Baron Cohen portrayed political activist/anarchist Abbie Hoffman in the drama The Trial of the Chicago 7, with Aaron Sorkin writing and directing. The film was released in September 2020 to positive reviews. He is set to star opposite Keke Palmer in the David O. Russell film Super Toys.

Public persona and activism
For much of the early part of his career, Baron Cohen avoided doing interviews out of character. However, in 2004, he did the talk show circuit appearing as himself on Late Show with David Letterman, The Opie and Anthony Show, The Howard Stern Show, and others to promote the forthcoming season of his show on HBO. He was also interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered and did an interview with Rolling Stone, published in November 2006, that the magazine labelled as "his only interview as himself". He also appeared in an interview out of character with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air on 4 January 2007.

Borat director Larry Charles explains that Baron Cohen generally appears in character partly to "protect his weakness", by focusing public interest on his characters rather than himself. His other reason, Newsweek claims, is that Baron Cohen is fiercely private: "...according to the UK press, his publicists denied that he attended a party for the London premiere of Borat and that a party even occurred".

Baron Cohen was featured in the Time 100 list for 2007.

Sports Illustrated 6 November 2006 issue contains a column called "Skater vs. Instigator", which illustrates various amusing "parallels" between Baron Cohen and figure skater Sasha Cohen, ranging from their mutually held personal significance of the number 4 to their shared romantic interests in redheads.

On 28 December 2015, Baron Cohen and his wife, Australian actress Isla Fisher, donated £335,000 ($500,000) to Save the Children as part of a programme to vaccinate children in northern Syria against measles; they donated the same amount to the International Rescue Committee, also aimed at helping Syrian refugees.

In 2019, Baron Cohen was awarded the Anti-Defamation League's International Leadership Award for opposing bigotry and prejudice. In accepting the award, Baron Cohen gave an impassioned speech directing criticism at internet companies, singling out Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter as part of "the biggest propaganda machine in history" and claiming that their rules on hate speech meant "they would have let Hitler buy ads".

In June 2020, Baron Cohen crashed the right-wing "March for Our Rights 3" protest in Olympia, Washington, a counter-protest to the March for Our Lives demonstration as a result of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Disguised under heavy make-up, Baron Cohen sang a song telling listeners to attack liberals, CNN, the World Health Organization, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates and "mask-wearers". The crowd, which initially sang along, realized they were being pranked when counter-protestors recognized Baron Cohen and began laughing. Baron Cohen's security stopped the organizers from taking him off stage and turning off the power, and Baron Cohen was forced to flee in a private ambulance from the crowd. The incident was later revealed to have been organized as part of filming for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, with Baron Cohen in-character as Borat in disguise.

In October 2023, Baron Cohen was among the members of the Writers Guild of America that called out its guild leaders for not speaking in support of Israel at the height of Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza.

In November 2023, Baron Cohen was among more than a dozen TikTok creators and celebrities who confronted TikTok executives, alleging TikTok is "creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis" and that the service could "flip a switch" to silence such videos. In response, the company reportedly pushed back and stated that while the platform regularly moderates antisemitic, anti-Arab racist, and Islamophobic content, it does not moderate nor amplify the spread of content that expresses criticism of what users describe as Israeli settler colonialism, apartheid or the ethnic cleansing and claims of genocide of Palestinians that is growing during the 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war.

Controversies, criticism and lawsuits
Baron Cohen has been criticized for the racist or prejudiced comments his characters have made. HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer replied to the criticism and said, "Through his alter-egos, [Baron Cohen] delivers an obvious satire that exposes people's ignorance and prejudice in much the same way All in the Family did years ago." Regarding his portrayal as the anti-Semitic Borat, Baron Cohen says the segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry" rather than a display of racism by Baron Cohen himself. He said, "Borat essentially works as a tool. By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice." Addressing the same topic in an NPR interview with Robert Siegel, he said, "People really let down their guard with [Borat] because they're in a room with somebody who seems to have these outrageous opinions. They sometimes feel much more relaxed about letting their own outrageous, politically incorrect, prejudiced opinions come out." The grandson of a Holocaust survivor, Baron Cohen said he also wishes in particular to expose the role of indifference in the Holocaust: "When I was in university, there was this major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw, who said, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.' I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but it's an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic." Regarding the enthusiastic response to his song "In My Country There Is Problem" (also known as "Throw the Jew Down the Well"), he said, "Did it reveal that [the cheering audience] were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism."

In an interview with former Tory MP politician Neil Hamilton in 2000, Ali G offered Hamilton what was allegedly cannabis, which Hamilton accepted and smoked, creating some minor controversy in the British media.

The government of Kazakhstan threatened Baron Cohen with legal action following the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony in Lisbon, and the authority in charge of the country's country-code top-level domain name removed the website that he had created for his character Borat (previously: http://www.borat.kz) for alleged violation of the law—specifically, registering for the domain under a false name. The New York Times, among others, has reported that Baron Cohen (in character as Borat) replied: "I'd like to state that I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my government decision to sue this Jew". He was, however, defended by Dariga Nazarbayeva, a politician and the daughter of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stated, "We should not be afraid of humour and we shouldn't try to control everything..." The deputy foreign minister of Kazakhstan later invited Baron Cohen to visit the country, stating that he could learn that "women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogues". After the success of the Borat film, the Kazakh government, including the president, altered their stance on Baron Cohen's parody, tacitly recognising the invaluable press coverage the controversy created for their country.

At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, Borat introduced Gnarls Barkley's performance of "Crazy", where he made a comment about Jessica Simpson, saying that he liked her mouth and that he could see it clearly through her denim pants.

At the 2006 UK premiere of Borat, he arrived in Leicester Square in a cart pulled by a mule and a number of "Kazakh women," announcing: "Good evening, gentleman and prostitutes. After this, I stay in a hotel in Kings Cross. We will all drink, wrestle with no clothes on and shoot dogs from the window".

Two of the three University of South Carolina students who appear in Borat sued the filmmakers, alleging that they were duped into signing release forms while drunk, and that false promises were made that the footage was for a documentary that would never be screened in the US. On 11 December 2006, a Los Angeles judge denied the pair a restraining order to remove them from the film. The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2007.

On 26 September 2008, Baron Cohen walked onto the runway during the Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada fashion show in Milan. In-character as Brüno, he was wearing a costume made of velcro. He appeared on the stage with a blanket and items of clothing stuck to his velcro suit. Lights were turned off while security intervened and escorted him off the stage, and the fashion show resumed normally shortly thereafter. Baron Cohen and his team had allegedly accessed the fashion show using fake IDs.

On 22 May 2009, a charity worker at a seniors' bingo game sued Baron Cohen, claiming an incident shot for Brüno at a charity bingo tournament left her disabled. However, the worker later retracted her statement, saying the "actor never struck her", but that he "beat her down emotionally to the point she's now confined to a wheelchair". The scene did not make the final cut for the film. The case was dismissed in late November 2009 on Anti-SLAPP grounds, with all lawyer's fees to be paid by the charity worker. The dismissal was appealed and upheld on 12 September 2011.

On 30 April 2010, Palestinian Christian grocer Ayman Abu Aita, of the West Bank and former member of Fatah, filed a lawsuit against Baron Cohen, alleging that he had been defamed by false accusations that he was a terrorist in the movie Bruno. Aita included David Letterman in the suit based on comments made during a 7 July 2009 appearance by Baron Cohen on the Late Show with David Letterman. Unlike the other lawsuits, Aita did not sign a release form, and his case centred around whether Baron Cohen's portrayal of Aita was false, not whether he was defrauded. In September 2012, the defamation claim was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, and the court case was dismissed.

In 2018, former Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama sued Baron Cohen for $95 million relating to a mock interview in Who is America? and allegations of paedophilia. On 13 July 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit after finding that Moore had signed a consent agreement barring his claims. Moore has filed notice of his intent to appeal the decision. On 8 July 2022, Baron Cohen defeated the lawsuit.

Personal life
Baron Cohen first met Australian actress Isla Fisher at a party in Sydney in 2001 and they became engaged in 2004. Subsequent to Fisher's conversion to Judaism, the pair married on 15 March 2010 in a Jewish ceremony in Paris. They have two daughters, born 2007 and 2010, and a son, born 2015. They previously divided their time between the Marylebone district of London and the Laurel Canyon neighbourhood of Los Angeles, before settling in Sydney. On April 5, 2024, Fisher and Baron Cohen announced via Instagram that they had filed for divorce in 2023.

Discussing his Jewish identity, Baron Cohen has stated, "I wouldn't say I am a religious Jew. I am proud of my Jewish identity and there are certain things I do and customs I keep." He tries to keep kosher, attends synagogue about twice a year, and is fluent in Hebrew. He first acted in theatrical productions with the Labour youth movement Habonim Dror. He spent a year in Israel as a kibbutz volunteer at Rosh HaNikra and Beit HaEmek as part of the Shnat Habonim Dror, also taking part in the programme Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz for Jewish youth movement leaders. In 2023, he was one of the actors to sign the open letter praising President Biden for his pro-Israel stance.

title: Sacha Baron Cohen