Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Sacha Baron Cohen Had Wife Sneak His Ali G Costume Into the Oscars

Not everyone was happy to see the return of Ali G during Sunday’s Oscars telecast.

Sacha Baron Cohen revealed that the Academy wanted him to present alongside Olivia Wilde as himself and not any of his characters. Well, the British comedian was not having any of that. With the help of wife Isla Fisher, who snuck in Cohen’s Ali G costume and helped him put it on in the disabled toilet stall, Cohen delivered some of the funniest lines of the evening.

de #Oscars dem tried to ban me – props to dis honey for getting me ready in secret in de disablist bogs #GrimsbyMovie

A photo posted by GrimsbyOnTour (@sachabaroncohen) on

Backstage disabled toilet at #Oscars #Grimsbymovie

A photo posted by GrimsbyOnTour (@sachabaroncohen) on

But it’s okay, he got the blessings of the host beforehand. “I mean there were a few moments I was a bit worried how they’d react to the first gag,” Cohen told ITV. “But I bumped into Chris Rock actually on the way on and pitched him the gag and he gave me the thumbs up so I went for it.”

This is not the first time Cohen has gotten himself in hot water at the Academy Awards. While promoting “The Dictator” in 2012, Cohen showed up as Admiral General Aladeen, “accidentally” s supposed ashes all over a not-so-happy Ryan Seacrest.

The Academy might be livid with Cohen but we can never get enough Ali G. Booyakasha!

Watch the video here:

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.