Sacha Baron Cohen sued by Roy Moore for $95m over Who is America 'paedophile detector' prank

Former Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore is suing Sacha Baron Cohen for defamation and “emotional distress” after he fell victim to a prank on the British comedian’s latest TV programme.

The US politician has filed a $95m (£74m) lawsuit over a stunt on Who Is America? which mocked him over sexual misconduct allegations.

Mr Moore was duped into appearing on the show in July on the pretence of him accepting an award for his support for Israel.

Instead, he was interviewed by Baron Cohen in character as “Colonel Erran Morad”, a purported Israeli counterterrorism expert who produced a device he claimed could detect paedophiles.

When the device indicated Mr Moore could be a paedophile, he grew angry and ended the interview.

“I’ve been married for 33 [years.] Never had an accusation of such things,” he said. ”Certainly, I’m not a paedophile, OK? Maybe Israeli technology hasn’t been developed properly.”

Nine women have accused Mr Moore of pursuing them for sex when they were teenage girls and he was in his 30s.

He has denied the allegations, which emerged during his campaign for the senate election he lost in December.

In a lawsuit lodged in Washington DC, Mr Moore accused Baron Cohen of wrongly portraying him as a sex offender.

The document states: “This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender, on national and international television, which was widely broadcast in this district on national television and worldwide, has severely harmed Judge Moore’s reputation and caused him, Mrs Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause plaintiffs financial damage.”

The lawsuit also names cable network Showtime, which broadcast Who is America?, and its parent company CBS.

Mr Moore is being represented by Larry Klayman, a right-wing activist lawyer who once submitted a petition to “deport” Barack Obama when he was president.

Mr Klayman said: “Sasha Baron Cohen, who is not only low class but also a fraudster, will now, along with Showtime and CBS, be held accountable for his outrageous and false, fraudulent and defamatory conduct which callously did great emotional and other damage to this great man and his wife and family.”

Mr Moore signed an agreement releasing the programme’s producers from liability, but the lawsuit argues this was obtained by deception.

Representatives of Baron Cohen have not yet responded to requests for comment.

A Showtime spokesman said they did not comment on pending litigation.

Several other political figures have been caught out by Baron Cohen’s series, which first aired in July.

Georgia state representative Jason Spencer was forced to resign after he was tricked into dropping his trousers and shouting “n****r” by Baron Cohen’s character, who convinced him it would help to ward off terrorists.

In another episode, former Arizona sheriff and Senate candidate Joe Arpaio debated the merits of gun ownership with a tiny toy doughnut and said he would accept oral sex from Donald Trump.

Baron Cohen, known for pranking victims in his series Da Ali G Show and the film Borat, has staved off lawsuits in the past.

In 2008 a New York judge threw out action brought by a driving instructor and two etiquette teachers who said they were duped into appearing in Borat, in which Baron Cohen plays an awkward Kazakh journalist travelling the United States.

The judge said the claimants had accepted money and signed agreements releasing the filmmakers from liability.