ShowtimeSacha Baron Cohen has revealed that a certain scene in Who is America? didn’t make it to air, and was instead handed over to the FBI in the hope that it would expose a paedophile ring.
Cohen’s Who is America, a political satire/prank show, aims to expose highbrow politicians and hard line conservatives as he interviews them in various costumes.
So far, he has waved a ‘paedophile detector’ at former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, revealed anti-Muslim racism, and managed to get various politicians to show support for arming kindergarten children.
But Cohen has described one interview as ‘too dark and wrong’ to air, as it gave the impression that an elite paedophile ring was operating in Las Vegas.
Speaking to Deadline, the actor explained how he wanted to investigate how ‘someone like Harvey Weinstein gets away with doing what… get away with criminality, essentially’. He described how he, dressed as his white haired playboy Gio character, interviewed a concierge in Las Vegas and the conversation quickly took a dark turn.
Cohen, in character, revealed to the concierge that he had molested an eight-year-old boy and told Deadline that he expected the man to simply leave the room because of the nature of the ‘extreme comedy’.
GettyHowever, he didn’t leave and Cohen continued his sketch in character. He asked the concierge to help him get rid of the problem, to which he reportedly then started to advise Gio on how to do so.
Cohen said:
This guy starts advising Gio how to get rid of this issue. We even at one point talk about murdering the boy, and the concierge is just saying, ‘well, listen, I’m really sorry. In this country, we can’t just drown the boy. This is America we don’t do that.’
The Borat actor then states how the concierge said he could put him in touch with a lawyer who could ‘silence the boy,’ before Cohen decided to take it one step further.
He said:
I became really dark stuff. And then at the end of the interview I say, listen, I want to go out and celebrate now. Can you get me a date for tonight? He says, ‘what do you mean, a date?’
I go, you know, like a young man. He says, ‘well, what kind of age?’ I say, lower than Bar Mitzvah but older than eight. And he says, ‘yeah, I can put you in touch with somebody who can get you some boys like that.’
Clearly disturbed by this interview, Cohen turned the footage over to the FBI because they thought there might be a paedophile ring in Las Vegas, which could be catering to the deprved requests of wealthy individuals – the concierge had said that he’d worked for politicians and various billionaires.
However, he said the FBI decided not to pursue it but that it still felt ‘too dark and wrong’ to put in the show anyway.
He said:
In a journalistic way it was fascinating, but it was so extreme and so dark that it was too unsettling for the audience.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 802 9999 (12-2:30 and 7-9:30). Alternatively you can contact Victim Support on 08 08 16 89 111.
Male Survivors Partnership is available to support adult male survivors of sexual abuse and rape. You can contact the organisation on its website or on its helpline – 0808 800 5005.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected].
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).