Ali G comedian sued for £73m over ‘paedo detector’ gag
US politician: I was tricked on to show
SACHA Baron Cohen is being sued by a US politician who was tricked into “failing a paedophile test” on the British comic’s TV show.
Roy Moore, 71, a former Republican Senate candidate, has filed a $95million (£73million) claim, accusing Cohen of falsely portraying him as a sex offender.
In his Alabama Senate campaign last year, Moore was dogged by accusations he had pursued girls as young as 14.
In July, the judge appeared on Who Is America? and was interviewed by Cohen, who posed as an Israeli counterterrorism expert, Colonel Erran Morad.
Cohen, famous for his Ali G and Borat characters, told Moore that Israel had discovered paedophiles secreted an enzyme at higher levels than “non-perverts”. He then produced a “paedophile detector”.
After brushing himself down with the device, it remained quiet. But when he waved it over Moore, it began to beep. When Cohen ran the scanner over him a second time, Moore stopped the interview and said: “I’ve been married for 33 years. Never had an accusation of such things. “Certainly, I’m not a paedophile, OK?” Defamation documents lodged in Washington, DC, state the “false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender” had “severely harmed” Moore’s reputation. It had also “caused him, Mrs Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress” as well as financial damage.
The lawsuit includes the production company behind Who Is America?, Showtime, and the CBS network.
Moore signed a release before appearing on the show but claims it was void as it was signed under false pretences. Nine women accused Moore of sexual misconduct during his race for the Alabama Senate last November.
He denied the allegations.