27 October 2020

Lawsuit against Borat film from estate of Holocaust survivor is dismissed

A lawsuit from the estate of a Holocaust survivor against Sacha Baron Cohen’s recent Borat movie has been dismissed.

Judith Dim Evans’ estate filed the suit arguing she was not aware she was appearing in a satirical film when she took part in a scene with Cohen where she talked about her experiences in the Holocaust.

But Judge Kevin Farmer made the decision in Georgia that the accusations that Cohen had attempted to ‘mock the Holocaust and Jewish culture’ were not sufficient.

Amazon lawyer Russell Smith released a statement which said: "The lawsuit was dismissed, unconditionally. The lawsuit is over.

"Sacha Baron Cohen was deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with Judith Dim Evans, whose compassion and courage as a Holocaust survivor has touched the hearts of millions of people who have seen the film.

"Judith’s life is a powerful rebuke to those who deny the Holocaust, and with this film and his activism, Sacha Baron Cohen will continue his advocacy to combat Holocaust denial around the world."

Holocaust survivor Evans died prior to the release of the movie last Friday, with Cohen subsequently dedicating the film to her.

Amazon are also said to be working on releasing some extra footage from the scene with Evans which will further elaborate on her experiences.

Giuliani insisted he had not been inappropriate at any point in the movie (DPA/PA Images)

The lawsuit is the latest controversy to come out of the Borat sequel after Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani was forced to defend his actions in the movie last week.

The president’s attorney appeared to put his hands down his trousers after being invited for a drink in a hotel room with an actress who was playing Borat’s daughter.

Cohen then leapt to Giuliani’s defence in a clip dressed as Borat.

"I here to defend America’s Mayor, Rudolph Giuliani," Borat said.

“What was an innocent sexy-time encounter between a consenting man and my 15-year-old daughter has been turned into something disgusting by fake news media.”

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