Not Nice: Borat Sued Again
Can Gypsy tears ward off lawsuits?
A New York businessman briefly shown during a scene in Borat hightailing away from Sacha Baron Cohen is suing distributor 20th Century Fox for using his likeness without his consent.
Filed June 1 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the lawsuit only identifies the plaintiff as John Doe. (The New York Post reported the man was 31-year-old Jeffrey Lemerond, a Dartmouth graduate and financial analyst; Lemerond could not be reached for comment Friday.)
The suit seeks unspecified damages for emotional trauma, with the plaintiff saying the 2006 mockumentary, whose full title is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, caused him "public ridicule, degradation and humiliation."
According to the complaint, the plaintiff could be seen "fleeing in apparent terror" and yelling, "Go away!" at Cohen's ersatz Kazakh journalist, Borat Sagdiyev, who pursues the man down Fifth Avenue while trying to hug random people on the street.
The suit claims that filmmakers initially blurred out the man's face in previews, but showed him in the film.
A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox said the lawsuit was "completely without merit" and indicated the studio was covered by free speech law in New York, which considers works like Borat as "matters of interest to the public" and allow such representations.
The comedy was a glorious success at the box office, grossing $260 million worldwide and earning Cohen a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy and an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. It also created a mini-industry for lawyers who have been filing suits against the film's supposedly unwitting participants.
However, the plaintiff in the new action says he did not sign a waiver giving permission for his image to be used, unlike most of the other previous litigants.
Those include two University of South Carolina students, who sued Fox to halt Borat's DVD release and accused the studio of fraud. They claimed they were duped into getting drunk on camera and making insensitive remarks about women and minorities. But in February, a Los Angeles judge tossed the fraternity brothers' suit, saying filmmakers were covered by California's free speech rules.
Two Romanian villagers, one of whom "played" the town's mechanic/abortionist in Borat's opening and closing scenes, filed a $30 million suit against Fox, contending they were wrongly depicted as rapists, bigots and simpletons. But a New York judge threw out that case in December.
An Alabama etiquette teacher named Cindy Streit didn't appreciate being handed a bag supposedly containing Borat's feces. She asked the California attorney general to investigate the methods Cohen used to get her to agree to appear in the movie, because she never would have done so had she known what it was truly about. Her plea fell on deaf ears.
Finally, a South Carolina man is asking for major damages for a scene that didn't make the final cut of the theatrical version but ran on Comedy Central and various Websites in which he was buttonholed by Borat at a public urinal.
As for Cohen, he's taking a break from Borat and is currently filming Tim Burton's big-screen version of Sweeney Todd opposite Johnny Depp. Cohen will also reprise his voice role as Julien, king of the lemurs, in Madagascar 2, and will star in a movie based on his flaming fashion maven character Bruno from Da Ali G Show.
Meanwhile, the 35-year-old comic actor and his 31-year-old fiancée, Isla Fisher, recently announced they're expecting their first baby this winter. Fisher is best known for playing Vince Vaughn's crazed love interest in 2005's Wedding Crashers.
But Borat fans needn't worry. He's busy writing two travel books, Borat: Touristic Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S. and A. and Borat: Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
The Big Picture
Fallout Boy After wowing 'em (and then some) at the American Music Awards, Adam keeps it low-key in NYC
More PhotosMost Commented
- Bitch-Back! Breaking News—Johnny's a Hottie (915)
- Rob and Kristen "Relaxed" Together in NYC (676)
- Costars and Suits Give Robsten Their Blessings! (650)
- Truth, Lies & Ted: Twilight Special (478)
- Why Won't Sarah Palin Go Away? (446)
- Adam Lambert: For Your Entertainment—or His? (428)
- Is New Moon Even Good? (422)
- Review: New Moon Is Either Just Fine or Way Mopey, Depending On Who You Are (357)
- Bitch-Back! Is There Drama on the Gossip Girl Set? (345)
- Ridiculous Twilight Hookups in an "All Taken" Cast (348)
Top 10 Stories
- GMA Doesn't Want Adam Lambert's Sloppy Seconds...Cue The Early Show!
- Goodbye or Good Riddance to Jon & Kate Plus 8?
- Oprah's Mom Settles Clothes Call Lawsuit
- Rihanna Sings Threesome, Avoids Going Naked on GMA
- Michael Lohan Runs Out of Family Members to Alienate, Starts Leaking Jon Gosselin Tapes
- It's a Sexy Job, but Adam Lambert's Gotta Do It!
- Donny Discovers Parts He Never Had Before for Dancing With the Stars Finale
- End of a Weird Era: Jon & Kate Plus 8 Signs Off
- Timbaland Denies Dumping Chris Brown
- New Sweet Home for Khloé and Lamar
Fashion Police
Sloppy SuitingGwyneth dares to experiment with hard-to-wear satin, but the result is dull and unpolished
More Photos
Latest Movie Reviews
Get Your E! News Now
3 Comments
-
Show the next 1 - 0 of 3 comments
Now loading...