Borat 2: Here's how Sacha Baron Cohen's prank victims feel about being tricked in the film

With Borat 2, Sacha Baron Cohen has added several names to the list of people he's tricked over the past few decades.

It might be tough to comprehend how anyone could still be fooled by the actor's comedic characters, but the follow-up to his hit 2006 film proves he's still able to deceive people with ease.

In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, he returns as Kazakh journalist Borat, and the sequel sees him travel to America accompanied by his 15-year-old daughter, Tutar (Maria Bakalova).

Once there, he plans to offer her as a gift to Vice President Mike Pence in apology for mocking the country 14 years ago.

On their journey, though, the pair attend events and conduct interviews, which serve as pranks on unsuspecting Americans. Mostly, their victims end up saying things they probably now wish they hadn't.

In the majority of cases, it seems they had no idea Baron Cohen was involved up until they first saw the film's trailer.

Below is a rundown of how these subjects have reacted to their appearance in the film.

Macy Chanel, Instagram influencer

First up in the film is Macy Chanel (spelt “Macey” in the film), an influencer who advises Tutar on how to make herself more presentable for older men. She gives her tips on how to be a “sugar baby” and, when Tutar says she wants to find someone who is near death, Chanel tells her she should seek out a man who has “just had a heart attack”. Ahead of her appearance, Borat jokingly calls her “America’s leading feminist”.

Speaking to IndieWire, Chanel revealed that she thought she was taking part in a Netflix series and was “misled into playing a role as someone that does not reflect who I am”. She said she’s had “a super difficult time” since the film was released. 

“I have enjoyed a successful modelling and acting career where I can play any role given. In this case and probably many others, I did not read the ‘fine’ print. As well as lacking the resources to read every casting contract.”

Jeanise Jones, babysitter

Jeanise Jones is the professional babysitter who strikes up a touching bond with Borat's daughter. Jones is led to believe that Borat treats Tutar like a pet and that the 15-year old is getting plastic surgery to look more desirable for older men. Jones is shown advising Tutar against this, telling her she is “beautiful” as she is.

It turns out that Jones had no idea who Baron Cohen was, and believed she was taking part in a documentary about women's rights. She has also said that she believed Tutar was a real person who may have been sold into the sex trade.

“I’m feeling like she’s from the Third World and that kind of stuff does happen where they sell women,” Jones told Page Six. “I’m thinking this is for real so I felt kind of betrayed by it.”

She continued: “They told me it was a documentary for this young lady to understand she has rights and she can do whatever a man can do. I felt pain for her and tried [to see] if there’s any way we can get through to her that she doesn’t need to do all that.”

Jones was found by the Borat 2 production team through the Oklahoma church in which she volunteers, and was paid $3,600 (£2,600) to participate. She shot scenes for the film in her Oklahoma home, and was later flown out by the film’s producers to Washington, where she filmed more scenes.

Will Davis, debutante ball guest

In one of the film's most shocking scenes, Borat and Tutar attend a debutante ball in Macon, Georgia disguised as Phillip Drummond III and Sandra Jessica Parker Drummond. The pair end up performing a “moon blood” dance, which really has to be seen to be believed. Some guests can be seen leaving the room in shock.

Davis, a local reporter, recounted his experience of the event on a Monroe county website, writing: “They began dancing side by side in synch when suddenly the ‘daughter’ lifted her hoop skirt, gyrating and revealing no underwear. That’s when all of us who were sober marched to the checkout desk, demanded our phones back and hit the road. 

"My precious daughter and I walked out into the cool Macon night with mouths agape wondering what had just happened.”

Davis later found out it was a Baron Cohen prank, writing: “[His] modus operandi seems to be trying to embarrass and shock southern conservative audiences on film. Of course our cotillion friends, having been hoo-dooed into hosting the charade, were humiliated and apologetic.

"I have no real problem with Borat getting a laugh at our expense. I find some of his stuff pretty funny. I will laugh a lot harder if we get the last laugh on [election night].”

James Connor Blair, March for our Rights rally attendee

After spending lockdown with two conspiracy theorist Republicans, Borat accompanies them to a right-wing rally where he performs a racist song they wrote together about the “Wuhan flu”. Its lyrics include: “Obama, what we gonna do? Inject him with the Wuhan flu.” Suffice to say, it goes down a storm.

James Connor Blair, who is a Washington city council member, was at the rally, and wrote of the experience: “Sacha Baron Cohen disguised as a PAC out of Southern California, paid for the stage setup and musical entertainment. Came on stage disguised as the lead singer of the last band, singing a bunch of racist, hateful, disgusting s***.

"His security blocked event organisers from getting him off the stage or pulling power from the generator. After the crowd realised what he was saying, and turned on him, his security then rushed the stage and evacuated them to a waiting private ambulance that was contracted to be their escape transport.”

A behind-the-scenes videos shows the stage being stormed by rally-goers after they realise who the actor is. He is shown being bundled into a van and holding the door closed in order to prevent people from breaking in.

Other people in attendance, some of whom made Nazi salutes, had their faces blocked out in the finished film. The two Republicans Baron Cohen stayed with in character as Borat are yet to speak out on their appearance.

Judith Dim Evans, Holocaust survivor

Alongside Jeanise Jones, Judith Dim Evans comes out of Borat 2 smelling of roses. She appears in the scene where Baron Cohen – dressed in shocking anti-Semitic clothing – walks into a synagogue in Marietta, Georgia. He tells her he's feeling suicidal after being told by Facebook that the Holocaust never happened. Alongside her friend, Doris, Evans – a Holocaust survivor – teaches Borat that he really shouldn’t believe what he reads.

Ahead of the film's release, it was reported that Baron Cohen revealed his true identity “for the first time” out of respect for Evans, who sadly died earlier this year. Evans' estate sued the film's makers as they claimed that she thought she was filming a “serious documentary”. Baron Cohen and Amazon hit back by saying they filled Evans in on exactly what was happening – and that this was caught on camera. The lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Amazon’s attorney Russell Smith said in response: “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.”

Rudy Giuliani

In what has become the film's most renowned scene, Rudy Giuliani is shown in what appears to be a compromising position after taking Tutar to his hotel bedroom “for a drink” after she interviews him. He believes she is a conservative TV host.

At one stage, he is shown lying on the bed with what appears to be his hand down his trousers, which caused a media firestorm around the time of the film’s release. As part of the prank, Borat then bursts into the room shouting: “She’s 15 – she’s too old for you!"

Giuliani has accused Baron Cohen of being a “stone-cold liar” for implying the image from the movie showed anything other than him simply “tucking in his shirt”.

The former mayor of New York responded on Twitter after the screenshot went viral.

“The Borat video is a complete fabrication," he wrote. "I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment,” Giuliani said.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video