Sacha Baron Cohen apologizes to Kazakhstan over Borat portrayal

Comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen has issued a public apology to the people of Kazakhstan regarding his portrayal of the character Borat Sagdiyev. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Cohen stated, “I want to apologize to the people of Kazakhstan, for the first time ever, because Borat has got nothing to do with Kazakhstan.”

Cohen explained that the character’s nationality changed frequently depending on which network was financing his projects. He noted that the character was originally developed for the BBC as an Albanian, but the location shifted to Kazakhstan because he felt it was a place about which “no one knows anything.”

The character, known for the 2006 film Borat and the 2020 sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, has been criticized by Kazakh Americans for causing irreparable harm to the nation’s image. Cohen expressed respect for the culture and people of Kazakhstan, asking those who may have been offended not to take the character personally.