Rudy Giuliani’s Controversial Film Appearance

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York and Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, has been in the news recently for his controversial appearance in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Borat is well-known for pulling pranks on innocent people and celebrities alike ever since the film’s predecessor Borat in 2006. 

Playing Borat’s teenage daughter Maria Bakalova sets up an interview with Giuliani to allegedly discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. According to NBC News, when Giuliani was asked about the pandemic, he responded “that China ‘manufactured’ COVID-19 and ‘deliberately spread it all over the world.’” After the interview had finished, Bakalova’s character invited Giuliani into the hotel bedroom for drinks, where he is shown through a secret recording to be “reclining on a bed and then putting his hand down his pants and moving it around for what appears to be a few seconds.”

Soon thereafter, Borat rushes into the room screaming that his daughter is only 15 years old. While it is not yet confirmed if Giuliani knew the girl’s age at the time, he had no reason to believe the reporter was underage and Bakalova is actually 24 years old. Critics have cited this incident as inappropriate behavior; however, Giuliani maintains his innocence in that he was simply untucking his shirt. BBC News shared that Giuliani tweeted about the incident stating, “At no time before, during or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar.” After the incident, Giuliani called the police and now claims that he suspected the situation was orchestrated by Baron Cohen. 

While what precisely occurred in that room is unknown, supporters of Giuliani have turned their attention to the legality of his appearance in the film. Nicole Page—a partner at a New York law firm—told USA Today that the secret filming of Giuliani is legal because “New York is a one-party consent state (to a secret recording), so as long as one party consented, it’s not illegal.” Since the secret recording is legal, people have questioned if Giuliani has any legal recourse for him being unaware that he would appear in the film. It is unlikely that Giuliani has legal standing in making a claim because the incident occurred in July and no action has been taken thus far. Moreover, Page explains that “Giuliani has not confirmed whether he signed a release form, but that would be standard in any film production and not just Baron Cohen’s.”

Baron Cohen is no stranger to legal trouble as he has been faced with multiple lawsuits as a result of his antics; however, no case against him has ever been successful. The primary basis of Baron Cohen’s films is to expose people saying or doing things they would rather not have publicized, and thus, it is no surprise that his team is prepared with secure release forms to protect themselves from legal action. 

Despite that we may never know the details behind Giuliani’s compromising portrayal in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, there have already been implications on his reputation from this incident. In contrast, Baron Cohen has experienced a wealth of publicity for his new film because of Giuliani’s role.    

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