Academy Organisers Fear Sacha Baron Cohen Dictator Stunt At The Oscars

There have been rumours going around that The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have banned Sacha Baron Cohen from attending the Oscars, mainly because the word “banned” looks dead sexy in a headline. The rumours aren’t entirely baseless, however. According to a spokesperson for the Academy, it seems as though Cohen’s tickets are genuinely in danger of being taken away, based on how he responds to enquiries about a possible “stunt” he has planned for the event to help promote The Dictator.

Cohen’s newest film, a satire about “a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed”, is set for release on 18th May, and some sources were saying that Cohen planned to attend dressed as ‘General Aladeen’. The actor has previously been vetoed for an Oscar hosting spot because his brand of comedy was deemed too controversial.

Personally, I’m on the fence for this one. It can’t be denied that the Oscars do have a bit of a stuffy air about them, not helped by the fact that the Academy members are 94% white and 74% male. Perhaps a light-hearted stunt on the red carpet would add a bit of levity to the day, especially if it’s something as simple as Cohen attending as his alter ego from the film. After all, one of the awards is going to be presented by the Muppets, and no one’s complaining about that.

However, the Academy’s reasons for not wanting him to pull the stunt seem pretty sound. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, an Academy spokesman said that they “don’t think it’s appropriate” and, more importantly, that they don’t want him “hijacking” the event for the purposes of a publicity stunt. This is in line with the general Oscars policy of not including studio-specific film promotion during the telecast, since ideally it should be an awards ceremony promoting films based on their merit and not their marketing budget.

So will Sacha Baron Cohen toe the line and attend the Oscars as himself, avoid it altogether, or show up as the Dictator regardless of the warnings he’s received?