Fridae

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, the creator of Borat and Ali G, has been revealed to be behind two cage-fighting events in the US state of Arkansas, both of which ended with two fighters stripping to their underwear, kissing and "rubbing one another," said a news report quoting local police. It is not clear if Cohen was one of the fighters.

Last month, over a thousand Arkansans, who were "lured" by online ads promising US$1 beers, "hardcore fights" and "hot chicks," found themselves appearing as extras in Cohen's latest film tentatively titled Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt.

A spokesman for Cohen declined to say whether he was behind the events but it is known that the British comedian is currently in the US filming undercover. The film revolves around Bruno, a camp and gay Austrian entertainment/fashion reporter character from the Ali G show, with a penchant for - you guessed it - mesh T-shirts.

Attendees, who each paid US$5 per entry, were told to leave their phones and cameras in their cars, and made to sign release forms agreeing to appear on camera.

At the two events held on consecutive days in Texarkana and Fort Smith, the kissing fighers had to escape via a specially prepared tunnel after the enraged audience threw chairs and cups of beer into the ring.

Cohen's last alter ego, Kazakhstani journalist Borat, duped Americans into making fools of themselves on camera and convinced a bar full of people in a small US town to sing "throw the Jew down the well" for his 2006 mockumentary comedy film which features real-life interactions with Americans.

Bruno is expected to be released in May 2009.


British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen as Bruno interviewing an ex-gay pastor
The segment appeared in an episode in the second season of the Ali G show aired on HBO in the US in 2003-2004. The first (2000) series aired on Channel 4 in the UK.