"This is the biggest gathering of cultural appropriators in history," Sacha Baron Cohen tells the camera in his parody of a street accent. Behind him, hundreds of fans cram onto a London Underground escalator, all wearing Ali G's trademark yellow shell suit and skullcap. Baron Cohen shouts the character's catchphrases through a megaphone, with the crowd enthusiastically finishing each one.
Earlier this month, more than 300 fans attended an official Ali G lookalike competition, ferried around London on an open-top bus that stopped at landmarks including Big Ben, Leicester Square and Covent Garden. The stunt was promotion for an upcoming sequel to 2002 film Ali G Indahouse - called Ali G: Who iz I? - which hits cinemas on Friday. But not everyone is excited about the return of Baron Cohen's comedy character.
Critics have long accused the actor of perpetuating racial stereotypes with Ali G, and criticism of the upcoming sequel has gained traction online, with social media posts from comedians, content creators and film fans attracting thousands of likes and comments. Among them is singer and presenter Jordan Stephens, who has posted multiple TikToks criticising the franchise's return. And last month, discussing the film's trailer on the Jeremy Vine show, Labour MP Paulette Hamilton called the character racist.
She said she believed Baron Cohen would not get away with portraying any other racial group "in the way he has done with the black community". Baron Cohen has not directly addressed criticism of the character's return, and did not respond to the BBC's request for comment. However, he acknowledged an inevitable backlash when he first announced the sequel, writing on X: "In an age where a comedian's career can be ended by a single un-PC joke, I thought I'd play it safe and bring this guy back." Recently, he shared a video, external posted to a newly created Instagram account, in which a grey-haired academic urged viewers to boycott the upcoming film.
The character appeared to be Baron Cohen in prosthetic makeup. Has Ali G passed his sell-by date? Or are racial stereotypes, and those who believe them, the true butt of the joke?
Alternatively, as some critics argue, is the whole thing simply not very funny? The character of Ali G rose to fame through a series of deadpan TV interviews with figures including Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed and the Beckhams, from which catchphrases such as "Booyakasha" and "Is it because I is black?" entered popular culture. But some critics say these catchphrases have since been appropriated by others in a real-life context to mock black people and dismiss their concerns.
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