Mint Press News has helped reveal a hidden ‘truth’ that needs to be exposed. One that Mr Cohen apparently wants kept quiet.
A summary of this ‘truth’ can be found below:
Sacha Baron Cohen, acclaimed for characters like Ali G, Borat, and Brüno, has built a career on audacious satire, ridiculing societal absurdities and stereotypes. While Cohen’s humour often targets Western ignorance, some critics argue his work supports a pro-Israel and pro-Western stance under the guise of comedy. Through films such as Brüno, The Dictator, and The Spy, Cohen’s comedic narratives align with broader pro-Israel and anti-Arab/Muslim sentiments, leading many to interpret his work as a blend of entertainment and Zionist propaganda.
In Brüno, for example, Cohen plays a flamboyant Austrian seeking “straightness” through a visit to a U.S. military base. The filming process was fraught with controversy, and documents later revealed the U.S. Department of Defense had a hand in facilitating it. Cohen’s CIA links also played a role in arranging film scenes in Brüno and in further Hollywood projects, signalling a close relationship with U.S. national security agencies. Such governmental support for Hollywood projects reflects a broader, legalised cooperation between intelligence agencies and entertainment, especially since the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act legitimised domestic propaganda. Investigative journalist Tom Secker and former CIA operative John Kiriakou argue that films like Brüno often serve to bolster the CIA’s reputation while promoting pro-Western and anti-Middle Eastern narratives.
The Dictator exemplifies this trend, presenting a caricatured Middle Eastern tyrant, clearly modelled after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in crude, Islamophobic fashion. Released during NATO’s involvement in Libya, the film caricatures Arabs and Muslims as violent and misogynistic, aligning with Western military narratives at the time. Many critics view the film as reinforcing stereotypical fears, fostering a climate of Islamophobia that supports the idea of perpetual Western intervention in the region.
Cohen’s 2019 series The Spy continues this trend, dramatising the life of Mossad agent Eli Cohen, whose intelligence gathering in Syria is depicted as crucial to Israel’s Six-Day War victory. Directed by former IDF member Gideon Raff, the show portrays Israel as a civilised nation among “barbaric” neighbours, a recurring contrast in Cohen’s work. Some see it as both Mossad glorification and propaganda, in line with Cohen’s own support for Israeli policies and his admiration for figures like Shimon Peres, a controversial figure in Israeli-Palestinian history.
Despite Cohen’s condemnation of overt Islamophobia, he has done little to challenge Israeli actions in Palestine, often framing pro-Palestinian rhetoric as antisemitic. During the 2021 Gaza conflict, for instance, Cohen focused on condemning perceived anti-Jewish sentiment rather than addressing the violence against Palestinians, aligning with groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), known for conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Cohen’s support for the ADL and his outspoken stance against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement are seen as an alignment with Israeli interests and a disregard for Palestinian advocacy.
Cohen’s comedic approach, which sometimes seems to mock Western ignorance, can be seen as inadvertently reinforcing the very stereotypes it claims to challenge. His Borat character, for instance, is a portrayal of a Kazakh man that many believe panders to racist perceptions of Muslims and Eastern Europeans. This paradox, where Cohen’s comedy appears progressive while promoting stereotypes, suggests a nuanced but unmistakable support for Western, pro-Israel views, leading some to view his work less as satire and more as a subtle endorsement of Zionist ideology.
Thus, given the horrendous experience Baron Cohen suffered, a truth was cut from the film Bruno. Why is that? Why hide reality? Is reality that ugly that the international community must have it censored?
Over to you Mr Cohen.
