Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Ali G movie facing serious backlash with huge petition launched

Cinemas are being urged not to screen Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Ali G film after campaigners slammed the revival of the 'problematic' character.

In the days since the trailer dropped, tens of thousands of people have backed a boycott of the sequel to the 2002 comedy Ali G Indahouse, which is set to be released in several weeks.

The impending return of the notorious character has sparked controversy among film buffs, who have hit out at Cohen for producing 'yet another harmful film' that critics say 'enforces harmful stereotypes'.

Amazon MGM dropped the official trailer for Ali G: Who Iz I? last week, while announcing that it will hit cinemas around the world on 23 October.

However, if NewsCord's campaign to get theatres to blacklist the film continues to gain traction, it might be very difficult for fans of Cohen to find somewhere to watch it.

Cohen's upcoming mockumentary is set to follow Ali G's venture into fatherhood and his journey across the pond to 'reclaim his former glory'.

The synopsis for Ali G: Who Iz I? explains: "After 20 years spent chillin’, tokin’ and bonin’, Ali G is shocked to discover that his long-term girlfriend, Julie (Morgana Robinson), is eight months pregnant.

"Faced with an extra mouth to feed, he gets off his batty and heads to America to reclaim his former glory…but soon encounters adversaries who will ultimately threaten his and his child’s very existence."

Cohen wrote, directed, produced and stars in the film, which was shot in a similar fashion to his movies Borat and Brüno.

The actor, who split from Isla Fisher in 2024, is seen sporting fake dreadlocks in the trailer, as well as a Rastafarian hat and his trademark glasses with yellow-tinted lenses.

He previously retired the controversial character of Ali G in 2007, but explained his motivation for the revival in a post on X last Tuesday (25 August).

"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," Cohen wrote.

In response to the release of the trailer for Ali G: Who Iz I?, British news comparison site NewsCord called on cinemas to 'refuse' to show the film.

At the time of writing, the organisation claims that it has sent 44,814 emails to chains around the world after this number of people signed up in support of its campaign to snub Cohen's project.

NewsCord's campaign states: "Sacha Baron Cohen retired Ali G. Amazon revived the caricature. Cinemas can refuse it.

'Booking is a choice'

It continues: "Ali G: Who Iz I? opens on 23 October 2026. Black British comedians called the character 'an alibi for racism' in 2000; Jeanette Winterson asked what separates it from the Black and White Minstrels; Kazakh and Arab organisations documented the harm of the catalogue behind it. Sony Pictures UK is selling it with the line 'He iz back. We ain't liable'.

"The screens belong to the chains, and a booking is a choice. One chain has already made it: Picturehouse says it is not planning to screen the film, so letters no longer go to Picturehouse."

People are being encouraged to support the crusade, which is demanding that 'major chains in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Mexico and the Middle East' should consider not showing the film.

According to Metro, Picturehouse Cinemas, which operates 25 theatres across the UK, said that it 'currently does not have any plans to screen this film on its release'.

However, it has since been reported that this might have been a standard customer response to films that just aren't scheduled yet - so it is currently unclear if Ali G: Who Iz I? will or will not air at these theatres.

In a post shared to Instagram on Sunday (30 August), NewsCord 'addressed the discourse' surrounding its campaign while praising supporters for helping 'mount the pressure'.

One slide said: "Ali G smokes weed, is a misogynist, and does nothing meaningful in life. He does this because he thinks this is what a Jamaican does.

"The world laughs at Ali G, but the real butt of the joke is Black people and specifically Jamaicans. It enforces a perception of what Jamaicans are, which is totally detached from reality."

Another slide hit back at comments suggesting that 'censorship is never the answer', as NewsCord said although it agrees this can be a 'very slippery slope', there 'must be a red line'.

It added: "How can we simply sit silently as Sacha Baron Cohen releases yet another harmful film? Why should these companies continue to profit from this?"

The head of the UK Cinema Association, Phil Clapp, said that cinemas shouldn't bear the responsibility of 'acting as censors or arbiters of public taste'.

In a statement shared with Variety, he said: "Cinemas are there to engage and entertain the widest possible audience.

"They are not there to act as censors or arbiters of public taste. So where a film has been given a certificate by the BBFC, they will decide whether or not to play it solely with the likely response of their audience in mind."