While you may not have seen the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of
America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, you’re sure to
hear all about it by watching the news or reading the local paper. The
star of the film, Sasha Baron Sasha Cohen, and the producers for 20th
Century Fox intended the film to be a satirical take on American
culture to expose racism and bigotry. The film was shot documentary
style with Sasha Cohen playing the role of a Kazakh journalist.
Unfortunately for those involved with the making of this film, not
everyone saw the humor behind the film’s concept.
ROMANIAN TOWN, GLOD, VS SASHA COHEN (BORAT)
Since the making of Borat there have been several lawsuits filed
against Sasha Cohen and the parent production company 20th Century Fox.
One of the largest lawsuits is being filed by attorneys representing
the villagers of Glod, the tiny Romanian town used as the backdrop for
Borat’s hometown of Kazakhstan. This lawsuit specifically names Nicolae
Todorache and Spiridom Ciorebea as plaintiffs who feel they were misled
about the intentions of Sasha Cohen’s film.
Todorache and Ciorebea claim they were informed the film would be a
documentary detailing the extreme poverty in Romania, and the rich
heritage and belief system upheld by the inhabitants. The villagers
feel they were specifically targeted and portrayed in a negative
manner, although Cohen and producers vehemently deny these accusations.
According to Fox representatives the natives were paid above average
wages and were never made to believe that this film was a true
documentary.
KAZAKH'S FOREIGN MINISTRY LAWSUIT VS SASHA COHEN
Adding to the list of people looking for justice are the citizens of
the real-life Kazakhstan. Until the release of Borat this was a
relatively unknown country, but it’s portrayal in this controversial
film has brought threats of a lawsuit from the Kazakh foreign ministry.
The lawsuit involving villagers from Glod was filed in Manhatten, but
was quickly dismissed in late 2006 by US District Judge, Loretta A.
Preska. The attorneys for the plaintiffs were warned that unless they
could provide specific claims/evidence that the villagers were misled
by Sasha Cohen and 20th Century Fox, the case did not have enough legal
merit to be heard by the court.
SOUTH CAROLINA FRATERNITY BOYS SUING COHEN BORAT
The villagers of Glod and Kazakhstan weren’t the only groups upset by
their portrayal in Borat. In fact, several lawsuits were filed here in
the United States by citizens unhappy with the film’s final result. Two
South Carolina Fraternity boys tried to sue Cohen and Fox for the way
they were portrayed in the film. The scenes in question show the two
boys, obviously intoxicated, making obscene racist and sexist remarks.
The boys claim that the film crew told them this documentary would not
be shown in the United States, and that the film crew is responsible
for taking them out to a local bar to get drunk prior to shooting.
The representatives for 20th Century Fox claim that the boys knowingly
signed a release to hold the company harmless and the behavior of the
two boys was not the result of anything said or done by members of the
film crew. After hearing both sides of the testimony a Los Angeles
Superior Court Judge ruled that he would not halt the release of Borat
to DVD, nor would he require Fox producers to remove scenes involving
the two Fraternity boys.
ETIQUETTE COACHES IN BORAT FILM LAUNCH LAWSUIT
Other individuals threatening lawsuits against Sasha Cohen and 20th
Century Fox include two etiquette coaches, Cindy Streit and Kathie
Martin, from Alabama. Both women are depicted in the film giving
etiquette lessons to Cohen’s character during a dinner party. The
dispute here is that both women were offended by the comments made by
Borat regarding slavery, a demeaning comment made against one of the
dinner party guests, and the bag of excrement handed to Streit.
The women claim that this film has single-handedly ruined their
etiquette businesses and, as with the Fraternity boys, demanded their
likenesses be removed from the film prior to its release. As with the
Fraternity boy case, it was decided that the film would be released to
DVD as scheduled and that 20th Century Fox was under no obligation to
remove the women’s images from the film. Both women signed a release
for the company in which they agreed not to file damage claims against
the producers. From a lawyer’s standpoint, the parties involved should
have read the agreements more carefully.
Overall, the lawsuits filed against Sasha Baron Sasha Cohen and 20th
Century Fox for the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for
Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan are frivolous at best. Each
of the plaintiffs signed a waiver to hold the producers harmless, and
the villagers of Glod and Kazakhstan have yet to make a specific claim
of damages in their lawsuit. In all cases, US District Judges ruled
that no legal harm was done and permitted the release of the Borat DVD
without any alterations to the original film version.
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