Guess they took the Dictator's demands seriously.
Two days after warning Sacha Baron Cohen that he wouldn't be allowed into the Oscars if he turned up dressed as his latest outrageous big screen creation, Admiral General Aladeen, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has reversed itself...Sort of.
So what are the folks behind Hollywood's biggest night saying now?
A rep for the Academy tells E! News that the funnyman will appear in the show, but not as the buffoonish bearded character—a comedic cross between Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin—he's been hyping of late. Instead, he'll turn up as himself since he's part of the cast of Hugo, which was nominated for Best Picture.
"We don't actually know if he is coming as the Dictator or not. He has a pretaped piece that is in the show. We have not heard back from his people," said the rep.
However, Oscars coproducer Brian Grazer may have let the cat out of the bag as to what zaniness Cohen's plotting when he told Extra that the comic genius is indeed planning to turn up as his Dictator character as part of a publicity stunt plugging the upcoming Paramount comedy in the same way he promoted 2006's hit Borat and 2009's Brüno at other events.
"We're thrilled to have him and he'll be on the red carpet dressed as the Dictator," Grazer confirmed.
When asked however whether his alter ego General Aladeen will make an appearance during the ceremony, the veteran producer's publicist couldn't say.
Cohen has yet to announce his intentions, though he hasn't been playing coy as the Dictator, especially on Twitter.
"VICTORY IS OURS! Today the Mighty Nation of Wadiya triumphed over the Zionist snakes of Hollywood. Evil and all those who made Satan their protector were vanquished and driven into the Pacific Sea," Cohen tweeted. "What I am trying to say here is that the Academy have surrendered and sent over two tickets and a parking pass! TODAY OSCAR, TOMORROW OBAMA!"
Earlier today, the ruler of the fictitious country known as Wadiya released a video message online expressing his "outrage" at "being banned from the Oscars by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Zionists." He also vowed that if Academy members didn't give him his tickets back by Sunday, they'd face "unimaginable consequences."
No word whether that means he'll be crashing the red carpet in full military regalia—or if he'll be accompanied by Hilary Swank, whom he claims to have paid $2 million "to be his date" and who "will not refund a penny."
—Reporting by Holly Passalaqua and Marcus Mulick