Sacha Baron Cohen Ali G Movie Slammed as Racist, Activists Send 37,000 Emails to Theaters

Sacha Baron Cohen ‘s outrageous Ali G character is back after 24 years — and so is the controversy.

With a new movie coming in October — Ali G: Who Iz I? — some activists are calling the Cohen’s dreadlocked wannabe hip-hop star a racist caricature and urging theaters to boycott the Amazon-MGM Studios film.

The movie is a mockumentary where cameras follow Cohen-as-Ali G as the character attempts to stage a career comeback (see trailer below).

As first spotted by Variety , NewsCord — a UK-based media-bias watchdog group — has rallied its members to support sending 37,000 emails to cinemas around the world urging them to refuse to screen the film. “Black British comedians called the character ‘an alibi for racism’ in 2000,” the organization wrote. “[British author] Jeanette Winterson asked what separates it from the Black and White Minstrels; Kazakh and Arab organisations documented the harm of the catalogue behind it. Sony Pictures UK is selling it with the line ‘He iz back. We ain’t liable.’ The screens belong to the chains, and a booking is a choice.” Related Stories Movies 'Ali G: Who Iz I?' Trailer: Sacha Baron Cohen's Prankster Returns in Stunt Documentary Movies Sacha Baron Cohen's Secret Ali G Movie Sets Fall Release

While British writer Afua Hirsch wrote on Substack, “Black people don’t dress like that anymore. Even white people imitating Black people don’t talk like that anymore. Sexualizing black women and casually mocking working class women is not accepted anymore. Baron Cohen’s so-called ‘humor’ is a crude compound of all these things.”

Of course, saying Black people don’t really look or talk like this arguably misses the point of the parody. Ali G is supposed to be ridiculous — a white British man who doesn’t realize that his over-the-top attempts at cultural appropriation are embarrassing, while those around him struggle to decide how to respond. The character might no longer reflect modern-day wannabes who attempt to embrace Black culture, but that mainly suggests Cohen’s schtick may no longer be timely or relevant, not that it’s offensive per se.

Cohen seems to have anticipated the backlash. When he posted the trailer on X, he wrote : “In an age where a comedian’s career can be ended by a single un-PC joke, I thought I’d play it safe and bring this guy back.”

Though even that sentiment feels about five years out of date — a single un-PC joke doesn’t exactly end careers anymore, as several edge-lord comedians like Dave Chappelle can attest.

Reactions to the trailer online have ranged from enthusiasm to criticism of the character, to gripes that Cohen waited too long. A rather large heaping of the protest messages online contain ugly antisemitic sentiment (seemingly unaware of the irony of accusing somebody of discrimination while slamming them for being Jewish.)

“Ali G, for decades, has been a racist caricature of black Jamaican, British, and American culture through the voice of a white comedian from England,” wrote one. “Are you just noticing this now?”

“There’s no relevance to the Ali G character today,” wrote another on X.