Sacha Baron Cohen Wasn't Supposed To Appear At The Oscars As Ali G
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As you probably know at this point, Sacha Baron Cohen presented the Best Picture Oscar to Spotlight on Sunday night, except he was in character as Ali G.
That wasn't planned at all. Baron Cohen was indeed meant to be presenting, but as himself. The Academy had specifically asked Baron Cohen not to appear as Ali G, The Guardian reports.
"The Oscars sat me down beforehand and said they didn't want me to do anything out of order, they wanted me to actually just present it as myself, but luckily my wife put on the Ali G beard in the disabled toilets and I managed to get away with it," the 44-year-old said in an interview on ITV's Good Morning Britain.
Baron Cohen's wife, Isla Fisher then added that they spent 40 minutes in the toilet changing into the infamous costume. Obviously many people asked what the hell they were doing in there for so long, to which Fisher replied that her husband had food poisoning.
Baron Cohen also added that while he had initially been nervous about the gag he bumped into Chris Rock who gave him the thumbs up.
During his time on stage, Ali G poked fun at the diversity debate by calling himself "just another token black presenter" and described the kidnap thriller Room as "a movie about a roomful of white people.
Topics: Sacha Baron Cohen, Oscars
