Sacha Baron Cohen, the British star behind enduring pop culture irritant Borat, has proved that he is, indeed, very nice, by promising to pay the fines of several Czech tourists arrested in Kazakhstan for wearing Borat-style mankinis.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbcA74BH1t4/
The group of tourists were charged with “indecent appearance“ after they stripped down in the capital city of Astana, and each fined 22,500 Tenge (about $90).
While you and I may feel this a just punishment for refusing to let the least funny bits of a film made in 2006 slip out of the public consciousness, Baron Cohen has stepped up to defend the honour of mankini-wearers everywhere, publishing the following Facebook post:
To my Czech mates who were arrested. Send me your details and proof that it was you, and I’ll pay your fine.
Kazakhstan continues to have a strained relationship with the film, after banning it immediately after its premier in 2006, saying that its depiction of the nation was sexist and racist. However, in 2012 the foreign minister did credit the mockumentary with boosting tourism to the Central Asian country, so it’s not all bad, I guess?
Considering that it’s the cultural artefact responsible for widely disseminating the mankini as preferred garb of fuckwits worldwide, I’d say the film deserves banning in at least one country. Good on Baron Cohen, though; maybe now those Czech blokes can put the money they’d otherwise pay on fines towards updating their comedy Blu-Ray collection. Might I suggest… Anchorman?
