On 26 August, Sacha Baron Cohen and Sony Pictures showed off the new Ali G sequel. The response — it’s fair to say — has not been positive. And now, campaigners are asking cinemas to not show the film, with one UK chain already confirming the following:
Cohen is receiving backlash for three primary reasons. The first is that the character is basically just Cohen doing blackface:
When Ali G first came out, the joke was seemingly pastiching white guys who appropriated what they saw as Black culture in London.
Whether you bought that joke or not, it’s clearly worn thin to the point of being non-existent at this point, and as such people are understandably taking the character to be Cohen’s impression of Black people.
As a minority myself I absolutely detest racism, and I am here in this comment section specifically to call it out. I came to this you with open arms and open eyes and gave you every opportunity to explain your reasoning, but instead you choose to attack me. You have said nothing substantial so far and this has been fun but I’m done wasting my time with you now.