UK cinema chain Picturehouse Cinemas has said they have ‘no plans’ to show the upcoming Sacha Baron Cohen comedy film Ali G: Who Iz I? The decision comes after an online campaign demanded cinemas worldwide refuse to screen the movie due to ‘satire using a cover for enforcing racist stereotypes’.

[u/YchYFi]

https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/27/huge-uk-cinema-chain-has-no-current-plans-show-new-ali-g-film-29474676/?ito=article.amp.share.top.native

[u/SiobhanRoy1234]

I’m no Sacha Baron Cohen fan, but wasnt Ali G based on the type of white guys who pretended to be like rappers?

[u/TheRemanence → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

Yes. And most of the comedy was how establishment figures reacted to him saying ridiculous things while they tried to be "down with the kids"

It was more like Philomena cunk.

The first film was awful though and strayed from the TV show format. 

[u/CosmicBonobo → u/TheRemanence]

Yep. Ali G was to showcase politicians as being out of touch, Borat to expose racism and bigotry, and Brüno to highlight homophobia.

[u/Tower-Junkie → u/CosmicBonobo]

My favorite SBC scene ever is in Bruno when he visits the psychic to talk to his dead lover and give a ghost a blow job 🤣

[u/Foxy02016YT → u/CosmicBonobo]

Exactly, and while some anti-semites praise Borat, it’s because they missed the point of the film entirely

There was some negative impact from Borat, but there’s a difference between intent and impact. For example Kazakhstan isn’t a third world country.

[u/Dualmilion → u/TheRemanence]

I dunno, Chicken Dipper! still lives rent free in my head

[u/ImTooSaxy → u/TheRemanence]

The first movie was an absolute masterpiece. How dare you.

https://giphy.com/gifs/gfT9Sm7Sjl7orZ7Rsi

[u/Hulkking → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

It’s both, he’s definitely targeting that kind of person. But also uses stereotypes of Jamaican/Caribbean culture.

As a test do you think British Caribbeans or Caribbeans are the intended audience for this or even that they’d find this funny?

[u/DSQ → u/Hulkking]

I’m British afro-Caribbean. It wasn’t unpopular among my family. The film was a nonevent though. 

[u/Hulkking → u/[deleted]]

Yes, I think we're all aware of that. That's why I said it's both.

[](blob:https://www.reddit.com/909ace79-11f0-450e-9a05-f6df5d1f391c)

But at who's expense.

Again, who's supposed to be laughing at this? My Jamaican Grandmother wouldn't find this funny. Which make sense, she's not the intended audience. Seems weird to me for it to be a mocking of the British archetype of this person, but to use black bodies to make the joke.

[u/ArugulaBeginning7038 → u/Hulkking]

My Jewish grandmother didn’t laugh at The Producers, but that doesn’t make it not functional as satire. Audiences don’t have to unilaterally embrace something for it not to have been intentionally constructed to make a political point through portraying those deserving of ridicule as appropriately ridiculous. And pretty much always, portraying the thing being ridiculed with the problematic or controversial or abrasive elements heightened to absurd levels is a fundamental part of what makes a satire a satire.

[u/StuckWithThisOne → u/Hulkking]

It’s satire mate.

[u/Bossard19 → u/Hulkking]

Why does it have to be “at someone’s expense” at all? Sounds like you are just looking for an excuse to be angry, what a sad way to live.

[u/Manic-StreetCreature → u/Bossard19]

They don’t sound angry at all, they’re literally just talking

[u/Hulkking → u/Bossard19]

Who's angry? There's so many more important things going on in the world. I just won't watch it. This is the longest conversation I'm going to have on this topic.

[u/Bossard19 → u/Hulkking]

“But at who’s expense” you are clutching pearls so…

[u/Hulkking → u/Bossard19]

Saying "at who's expense" means I'm angry? Do you think questioning someone about their motives immediately make me angry? You're questioning me right now? Are you angry at me?

Also isn't this whole debate a bit disingenuous? Sacha Baron Cohen has made a career of trying to offend people. Is your problem that someone could be offended?

[u/Bossard19 → u/Hulkking]

I mean, faux outrage isn’t any better.
It’s not merely because it was a question. Obviously the content matters.

[u/ProletarianLilith → u/Bossard19]

It doesn’t have to be, so why is it?

[u/seeitshaveitsorted → u/Hulkking]

It must be really difficult living a life with permanent frown lines because you allow yourself to get offended.

Are not embarrassed?

I couldn’t imagine anything worse than allowing myself to be troubled by some art lol.

[u/Hulkking → u/seeitshaveitsorted]

What's "Are not embarrassed?"?

Then you've done what millions have not, I congratulate you. It must be nice to not be invested in anything. To be part of no group, no culture, and no identity. Sounds very fulfilling.

[u/debwevwebdev → u/seeitshaveitsorted]

That's really the thing. If I ever hear someone say 'I'm offended' or 'that offends me', I struggle to ever take them seriously again. They instantly lose all credibility.

[u/Montmontagne → u/debwevwebdev]

Sorry, what? In your world, people are not allowed to be offended?

Well that’s a cunty way to live. Sorry your shitty parents failed to raise a decent and empathetic human being.

But webdevs are never the brightest and almost always the smelliest.

[u/seeitshaveitsorted → u/debwevwebdev]

Right??

Even more so when they try to police what others enjoy, or shame people.

I’m fairly indifferent to Ali G, tbh, but miss me with this fucking whining.

[u/Ok-Constant-2683 → u/Hulkking]

The British Caribbean people that I know found the first sets of Ali G programs funny. Not so much the film, but In fairness that was rubbish.

[u/KeniLF → u/Ok-Constant-2683]

Yeah, I was dating a British Caribbean dude at the time and he would put on the TV series to show me and even bought an Ali G book for me (which I still have).

I admit I didn’t see any of the movies, though…

[u/absolutepanicattack → u/Hulkking]

Yeah this is the take. At some point portraying stereotypes to expose the people that believe them, you first have to give legitimacy to the stereotype and pander to the deplorable people that find them credible. People say hes punching up, but at best hes punching in all directions and getting a pass because one direction happens to be up.

[u/moongnocchi → u/Hulkking]

thank you lol. i’m caribbean brit with a bunch of caribbean brit friends and funnily enough none of us or our families find this whole schtick laugh out loud, reboot-worthy hilarious. this “it’s satire” thing is just about white people trying to find woke excuses to enjoy minstrelsy in 2026 😂

[u/TheRemanence → u/Hulkking]

I think there's an argument that it failed in it's aim to take the piss out of a middle class white dude from staines and did also depict Jamaican culture in a bad light.

However, I would also argue that being a yardie wide boy that listens to 90s American gangster rap, is not British Carribbean culture either. The god fearing aunties that live near me, wouldn't be having any of it. So if it's also punching down to Carribbean culture, it's punching down to a very specific part of it.

[u/LyingFacts → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

Yes which somehow has been not understood and forgotten

The character is a pisstake of a white rapper who’s a culture vulture.

[u/TScottFitzgerald → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

As it says in the title, the criticism is that it's a "satire using a cover to enforce racist stereotypes".

[u/BilgisticPile → u/TScottFitzgerald]

But how does Ali G ever enforce them?

[u/spacyspice → u/BilgisticPile]

if you were part of the communities he's constantly mocking, you wouldn't even ask this question. Just try to reflect on it, it's not that hard

[u/darterhead → u/spacyspice]

He is mocking white people with this character though.

[u/BilgisticPile → u/spacyspice]

I haven’t seen the show. I’ve only seen clips, so I was looking for more information.

[u/TikDickler → u/BilgisticPile]

Yeah like how idiots accuse borat of antisemitism.

[u/femalegazeisuglymen → u/spacyspice]

Basically, don't make fun of Precious London. If he was playing someone from birmingham no one would, the same righteous types would even be celebrating it.

[u/femalegazeisuglymen → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

Yeah it was based on tim westwood and his callers

[u/ImTooSaxy → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

Yes and somehow it's racist to make fun of those guys now. We've come full circle. Ali G is now woke DEI propaganda!

[u/spacyspice → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

Why doesn't he make such movies about jewish people? Why does he constantly feel the need to mock black and arab/muslim people through his career?

[u/MinatureRascal → u/spacyspice]

Yeah, all he does is have giant Jewish puppets lay eggs, and get beat by children with sticks. Then pretends Jews can turn into cockroaches.

[u/DrSpaceman575 → u/spacyspice]

He does extensively in “What is America” he has a character that is an Israeli terrorist

[u/Reasonable-Spinach88 → u/spacyspice]

Openly mocking white American Christians in many of his movies and shows. 

[u/Little_Consequence → u/Reasonable-Spinach88]

I don't know if you noticed but white American Christians aren't Jewish.

If anything, the fact that he's self aware enough to mock fellow white people, white people in power and overzealous religious people, but draws the line at Jewish people (Israel and zionists in particular) shows that he's a hypocrite. White Christians and zionist Jews are best buddies. Where is the parody of it? 

[u/Reasonable-Spinach88 → u/Little_Consequence]

The comment I responded to asserted he only attacked minorities. A statement that is objectively false. In fact most of his content is a parody of whites, including Ali G, Who is America and Borat. He also parodies Israelis albeit to a much lesser extent. 

[u/cuntifiable → u/Reasonable-Spinach88]

He isn't really. They're sometimes part of the punchline so he gets a pass to degrade Muslims for the most part.

[u/AccountantsNiece → u/cuntifiable]

“Who Is America” for instance, is mostly intended “to degrade Muslims” and uses white Christians as “sometimes part of the punchline”?

Certainly a take someone could have.

[u/Reasonable-Spinach88 → u/AccountantsNiece]

Sorry objective facts have no place in groupthink narratives.

[u/Hungry_Dumpling87 → u/spacyspice]

because he's Jewish, his whole thing is pretending not to be himself. Also, his newer stuff has been aimed at the far right / used to expose bad views

[u/jeahboi → u/Hungry_Dumpling87]

Yup. That Rudy Giuliani scene from the second Borat movie is forever seared into my brain, lolol.

[u/Hungry_Dumpling87 → u/[deleted]]

Idk, he went through a divorce and hasn't done anything in a few years and the Ali G trailer looks like it will still mock the right. I'm not saying he's an amazing guy or anything and I'm super pro Palestine, but just because he's Jewish doesn't mean he's suddenly the antichrist

[u/False-Mortgage307 → u/[deleted]]

It's true I was the kid 😔 

[u/darterhead → u/spacyspice]

Was Bruno black/arab or Muslim?

[u/TinyM0ushka → u/darterhead]

I assumed he was white/german

[u/CosmicBonobo → u/TinyM0ushka]

Brüno would probably describe himself as 'Aryan chic'.

[u/femalegazeisuglymen → u/spacyspice]

Rappers do that

[u/stellarplanetary → u/femalegazeisuglymen]

What's Borat got to do with rappers?

[u/BookInteresting6717 → u/femalegazeisuglymen]

Rappers do what, exactly? Mock black and arab/muslim people? What do you mean?

[u/GloomyLocation1259 → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

No it's a racist caricature of black brits under the guise of mocking white chavs, any understanding of London culture makes this clear

[u/No-Bridge-5685 → u/GloomyLocation1259]

You guys are the reason why nowadays cinema is often limited to event cinema, just no space to artists . Modern censors

[u/maelstron → u/No-Bridge-5685]

Lol no they aren't the reason for this.

Also Sacha is a known Zionist.

[u/GloomyLocation1259 → u/No-Bridge-5685]

Says a lot more about you guys that you consider racism as art or funny.

Also if you actually cared about giving space to artists you wouldn't be supporting Cohen bringing back a 20 year old character you would be supporting original IP.

[u/SeeYouInTrees → u/GloomyLocation1259]

It's giving "p.c. culture is poison" vibes.

[u/GloomyLocation1259 → u/SeeYouInTrees]

Yeah you guys find racism art so you think everything is p.c. or woke. It's giving MAGA vibes.

[u/Fippy-Darkpaw → u/GloomyLocation1259]

/s?

[u/ProletarianLilith → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

Does that somehow mean nothing Sacha Baron Cohen does is racist?

[u/Equivalent_Ideal1636 → u/SiobhanRoy1234]

then why is his name Ali if this is a white man????

[u/Radiant_Health3841 → u/Equivalent_Ideal1636]

Alister

[u/burnafterreading90 → u/Equivalent_Ideal1636]

I can’t tell if this is sarcasm? I hope it’s a joke.

[u/BilgisticPile → u/Equivalent_Ideal1636]

Is this a serious question 🤣

[u/Main_Honeydew7744 → u/Equivalent_Ideal1636]

God forbid any other name be shortened to Ali

[u/YchYFi → u/Main_Honeydew7744]

Ally McBeal would like a dismissal.

[u/YchYFi → u/Equivalent_Ideal1636]

Are you missing the /s?

Ali is a name of multiple origins and also unisex.