No better way to celebrate a gold medal for Kazakhstan than blasting the national anthem ... from "Borat" ... which is mostly about hookers and genitals. Niiice!
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Sacha Baron Cohen took shameless promotion to a whole other level on the red carpet of the Oscars tonight -- not only did he show up dressed as his character from the upcoming movie "The Dictator" ... but he spilled an urn filled with fake ashes of Kim Jong Il all over Ryan Seacrest on live television.
Props to Seacrest though ... as he always does, Ryan took the whole thing in stride.
Sacha Baron Cohen is comparing the Oscars to a power hungry tyrant ... pointing out how the Academy has stripped him of his right to free speech ... just like his dictator alter-ego would do. Oh, the hypocrisy!
SBC released a new video statement -- while in character as General Aladeen from his new movie "The Dictator" ... in which he says, "I am OUTRAGED at being banned from The Oscars by the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts and Zionists.”
He adds, "While I applaud the academy for taking away my right to free speech ... I warn you that if you do not lift your sanctions and give me my tickets back by 12 PM on Sunday, you will face unimaginable consequences!"
Cohen also takes a shot at Hilary Swank ... presumably because she attended a birthday party for an alleged war criminal.
In case you haven't heard -- the Academy reportedly BANNED Cohen from attending the awards because it got word that he would arrive dressed as General Aladeen ... and officials felt the stunt would take away from the prestige of the event.
Sacha Baron Cohen is in the clear over an alleged attack on a gay cameraman at a gay rights rally in 2008 -- TMZ has learned the photog has dropped the case citing his own "emotional well being."
The cameraman -- Mike Skiff -- filed a lawsuit against Cohen and the people behind the movie "Bruno" last month ... claiming he was attacked by crew members while covering a Prop 8 rally in West Hollywood.
Skiff insisted that he was targeted because he had recognized Sacha in his Bruno costume ... just as Sacha and company began "inciting" the crowd.
But last week, Skiff suddenly decided to call off his legal war -- filing a request for dismissal with the L.A. County Superior Court. His lawyer tells us the matter "had become too difficult [for Skiff] to deal with."
The lawyer, Clifford Scherer, adds, "Mike is satisfied with the statements he made, and satisfied that people were made aware of the situation."
A guy who claimed Sacha Baron Cohen ripped off his idea for the Velcro scene in "Bruno" couldn't get the lawsuit to stick in court ... TMZ has learned.
According to documents just filed in federal court in California, a judge ruled that the "Bruno" scene didn't have enough in common with a scene from an unmade movie called "Himbos" ... in which some dude was also supposed to don a Velcro suit and wreak havoc at a fashion show.
As a result, the case was just dismissed -- making it the 487,007,784th legal victory for Cohen and his lawsuit-inducing mega-flicks.
Sacha Baron Cohen scored a crushing victory over the woman who accused him of sabotaging her bingo game back in 2007 and causing her serious emotional damage in the process -- all for a scene for the movie "Bruno."
The judge in the case not only ruled against the bingo lady -- Richelle Olson -- he also ordered the accuser to fork over $17k to pay for all of Team Bruno's attorney's fees.
As TMZ first reported, Olson wanted more than $25,000 in damages -- claiming Cohen, in full Bruno character, wreaked havoc at her Palmdale, CA bingo game back in 2007 and ordered his camera crew to attack when she tried to take his mic away.
Olson later changed her story and claimed she was never beaten, just merely emotionally damaged from Cohen's use of "vulgar" language ... a story that didn't quite add up according to legal papers, filed in L.A. County Superior Court.
As for any footage that was shot during the encounter, the Bingo scene was ultimately cut from the movie.
Sacha Baron Cohen, along with the producers of "Bruno" and David Letterman's company -- are being sued by a man who claims his reputation has been smeared all over the world because people now think he's a terrorist.
Ayman Abu Aita is a grocer on the West Bank -- he says in Palestine. He was featured in the movie "Bruno," in which he is described as "terrorist group leader al-aqsa martyrs brigade."
According to the suit, filed in federal court in Washington D.C. and obtained by TMZ, Abu Aita claims Cohen appeared on David Letterman's show promoting the movie and during the interview Cohen and Letterman gave the "unmistakable impression" that Abu Aita was a terrorist.
Abu Aita also says he was defamed by Cohen on an NPR interview on the show, "Fresh Air."
The woman who sued Sacha Baron Cohen over a "Bruno" attack now says the actor never struck her, but beat her down emotionally to the point she's now confined to a wheelchair.
Richelle Olson has amended her lawsuit against Cohen, NBC Universal and others, claiming Cohen and his crew were "replete with deceit, fraud and misrepresentation" when they contacted the charity she ran, offering to send a "celebrity" to her charity bingo tournament for the elderly.
Olson claims the character Bruno showed up and began calling bingo numbers "using vulgar and offensive language over the loud speaker system." She says she asked him to stop but he didn't, and the film crew captured her "humiliating emotional reaction."
The suit claims Olson left the stage, went into a side room, began sobbing uncontrollably and lost consciousness, falling headfirst into a concrete slab. As a result, she's confined to a wheelchair and a walker.
She's suing for unspecified damages. And, we're told, the scene was cut from the movie. Welcome to Hollywood.
The Austrian media is going crazy over the new movie "Bruno" -- claiming Sacha Baron Cohen based his fake flamboyant Austrian TV host ... on a real life flamboyant Austrian TV host.
The dude caught in the middle is Alfons Haider -- he's proud to be gay, he's into fashion, and (just like Bruno) he's also been known to compare himself to Zac Efron.
Want more evidence? -- Alfons is the highest-paid presenter on Austrian state broadcaster ORF. In the film, Bruno works for a channel called OJRF. Coincidence?
The controversy has been raging in Austria for a while, but Haider just told The Telegraph newspaper, "I never understood the comparison to myself at all. The only comparisons I can think of is that I'm Austrian, I'm gay, and I work for television, but the rest is completely fiction."
Before Justin Bieber went toe-to-toe with a photographer -- sparking a police investigation -- he trained with "Iron" Mike Tyson! Wondering how they ended up together? Well, we got Tyson on the phone ... and you won't believe his excuse for kicking it with Biebs. Plus,…
"Wedding Crashers" babe Isla Fisher showed she has her husband Sacha Baron Cohen's back ... by wearing a t-shirt of his new movie on her front.
According to the suit, filed in federal court in Washington D.C. and obtained by TMZ, Abu Aita claims Cohen appeared on David Letterman's show promoting the movie and during the interview Cohen and Letterman gave the "unmistakable impression" that Abu Aita was a terrorist.
