Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

‘Borat’ lawsuit from Holocaust survivor’s daughter is dismissed

(JTA) — A judge in Georgia dismissed a lawsuit by the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who appears in “Borat 2.”

Judith Dim Evans’ daughter claimed that her mother, who teaches the title character about the Holocaust in the film, was “horrified and upset” at learning after filming that Sacha Baron Cohen’s film was a comedy. Evans’ daughter sought to have the scene cut from the film, which debuted on Amazon Studios on Friday.

Evans died earlier this year.

Cohen and Amazon said that Evans was clued into the film’s running gag style — which tricks unknowing people into doing things on camera — right after the scene was filmed, and that she signed a waiver form that authorized the use of her scene.

Cohen devotes a large portion of his new film to mocking anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. He dedicated the movie to Evans’ memory, something he has not done with any of his previous films.

“Sacha Baron Cohen was deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with Judith Dim Evans, whose compassion and courage as a Holocaust survivor has touched the hearts of millions of people who have seen the film,” an Amazon rep told Deadline. “Judith’s life is a powerful rebuke to those who deny the Holocaust, and with this film and his activism, Sacha Baron Cohen will continue his advocacy to combat Holocaust denial around the world.”

According to Deadline, Cohen and Amazon are working to share the cut footage of Evans telling her full Holocaust story “for viewers of the film to hear Evans tell the story of what happened to her family during World War II.”

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.