An online campaign urging cinemas to reject Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G: Who Iz I? has accompanied the satirical sequel’s release, drawing objections from its executive producer over attacks targeting the actor because he is Jewish. The film received mixed reviews during its limited theatrical release and is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
NewsCord, a British online media activism platform whose advocacy largely concerns coverage of the Gaza conflict, says its campaign generated about 55,000 emails asking exhibitors to withhold the film. The platform published an opinion piece describing Cohen’s work as “blackface.” Its campaign tools use a specialized language model to help users prepare personalized letters and send complaints to cinema businesses, including Cineworld, Odeon, Landmark and Cinemark.
The platform removed Picturehouse from its mailing targets after the London-headquartered British cinema chain said it had no plans to show the sequel. On Oct. 23, when the film opened in theaters, NewsCord declared its campaign successful, citing Amazon’s limited exhibition plans. Amazon described the rollout as a “stunt release.” NewsCord also characterized its email total as 55,000 individual participants, a claim The Hollywood Reporter described as misleading.
Criticism of the film began after its first trailer appeared on Aug. 25. British commentator Afua Hirsch challenged the character’s depictions of Black culture and women, arguing that its humor was outdated and demeaning. Cohen has previously explained that Ali G partly satirizes white British young people who imitate exaggerated versions of Black American and Black British cultural styles.
Cohen incorporated the backlash into the promotion, initially joking that reviving Ali G was his way of playing safe in an era when an offensive joke could end a comedian’s career. He subsequently released a clip playing a progressive academic who called for a boycott on behalf of a fictional Campaign for Ethical Comedy.
NewsCord was incubated by the nonprofit Tech for Palestine. That organization’s efforts to influence Wikipedia entries concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict and associated subjects have drawn criticism from Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies and the Anti-Defamation League. Neither NewsCord nor Tech for Palestine responded to The Hollywood Reporter’s inquiries.
Other projects associated with Tech for Palestine have targeted entertainment releases. In October 2024, founder and CEO Paul Biggar accused Israel of manipulating IMDb reviews and provided instructions for countering the popularity of four documentaries about the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. Boycat, an app incubated by the nonprofit, has also advocated boycotts of Disney’s Snow White and Captain America: Brave New World, citing Gal Gadot’s support for Israel and the latter film’s Israeli superhero character and actress Shira Haas.
Monica Levinson, an executive producer of the Ali G sequel who previously worked with Cohen on Borat and Brüno, told The Hollywood Reporter that some resistance to reviving the character was anticipated. But she said attacks on Cohen as a Jewish public figure were disheartening, adding: “The coordination, messaging and scale of the attack has been astounding.”
Asked about the campaign before the film’s release, Cohen said he believed much social media activity was coordinated and did not necessarily reflect participants’ convictions. He said he had expected prominent Jews to be targeted, although the degree of organization surprised him, and characterized the campaign as part of a broader effort to portray Jews in particular ways and silence them.
