Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming film, "Ali G: Who Iz I," is facing significant backlash, with campaigners petitioning for its ban from UK cinemas. The criticism centers on accusations that the movie utilizes satire as a guise to promote racist stereotypes, particularly targeting Jamaican culture.
NewsCord, a UK-based media monitoring platform, initiated a campaign shortly after the release of the film's first trailer, urging cinemas worldwide to refuse screening. The group has reportedly contacted 15 major cinema chains globally, requesting they reject the film on behalf of their registered users. As of Sunday, the campaign indicated that 41,000 emails had been sent.
Campaigners argue that the character Ali G enforces harmful stereotypes, depicting Jamaicans as individuals who smoke weed, are misogynistic, and lack meaningful life pursuits, solely based on their perceived cultural identity. They assert that the humor in Ali G's portrayal disproportionately targets Black people, specifically Jamaicans, echoing patterns seen in some of Baron Cohen's previous works where race or religion became the subject of jokes.
These criticisms are not new, with Black British comedians reportedly labeling the character an "alibi for racism" as early as 2000. Concerns have also been raised by Kazakh and Arab organizations regarding the harm caused by the character's depiction. Sony Pictures UK's marketing line, "He iz back. We ain't liable," has also been cited as evidence of the perceived insensitivity.
Phil Clapp, head of the UK Cinema Association, stated that cinemas are designed to entertain a broad audience and are not intended to act as censors. He indicated that decisions on whether to screen a film would be made by individual cinemas based on their likely audience reception, provided the film has obtained the necessary certification from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
Baron Cohen himself has addressed the controversy, writing on X that in an era where comedians' careers can be ended by a single "un-PC joke," he chose to play it safe by bringing back the Ali G character.
While reports suggested that the UK cinema chain Picturehouse had decided not to screen the film, Variety later clarified that the communication was a standard response to a query about a film not yet booked, and no definitive decision had been made.
"Ali G: Who Iz I," which marks Baron Cohen's directorial debut, was secretly filmed over the course of a year. The mockumentary follows the character's life since "the world went to c**p" and includes his pregnant girlfriend, played by Morgana Robinson. The film is scheduled for release in cinemas on October 23.
The Ali G character first appeared on Channel 4's "The 11 O'Clock Show" in 1998 as a satirical "voice of youth." He later became the subject of "Da Ali G Show" in the early 2000s and the feature film "Ali G Indahouse."
Baron Cohen retired the character in 2007 due to the character's increasing recognizability hindering his satirical effectiveness. In 2023, Alf Lawrie, head of factual entertainment at Channel 4, commented on the changing media landscape, suggesting that characters like Ali G and Borat would be difficult to create today due to stricter regulations and increased awareness, making it harder to "hoodwink people on the same grand scale" as in the past.