Ali G film faces UK backlash as campaign pressures cinemas to drop it
A new campaign is pushing cinemas to refuse to screen the upcoming Ali G movie, according to Variety. The effort, organized by the media platform NewsCord, claims to have sent over 36,000 emails to theater chains on behalf of people who have registered their protest.
The backlash followed the release of the trailer for "Ali G: Who Iz I?" from Amazon MGM. In the preview, Sacha Baron Cohen's character sports artificial dreadlocks and a Rasta-style cap while talking about wanting to be a father who is not around. Critics online have called the satire outdated and racist.
The campaign argues that Cohen's comedy serves as a disguise for promoting racial stereotypes. It references a 2000 newspaper article where Black British comedians said the character provided an excuse for racism. Those views are being echoed again now.
However, a reported early victory for the campaign appears false. NewsCord posted a reply from Picturehouse Cinemas stating it had no plans to screen the film, which the site took as a refusal. Variety reports the email was actually a standard response about an unbooked title, and no decision has been made.
Phil Clapp, who leads the UK Cinema Association, commented to Variety on the situation. He said cinemas aim to entertain a broad audience and are not meant to censor content, typically showing any film that has received its official rating from the British Board of Film Classification.
