Who Is America? gallery owner duped by Sacha Baron Cohen responds
The fine art consultant is both 'mad and amused' by the comedian's actions
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Your support makes all the difference.Sacha Baron Cohen returned with damning new series Who Is America? with one of his subjects coming off far better than many others.
One sequence saw the Borat funnyman target art expert Christy Cones posing as a reformed criminal named Rick Sherman who discovered his flair for art behind bars using his own bodily fluids. Cones listened on as her interviewer reeled off some pretty full-on past experiences with viewers praising her gracefulness and willingness to placate his wishes (after presenting a paintbrush made using the stray pubic hairs of famous artists, Cones offers her own up).
Cones, a fine art consultant at Orange Country's Coast Gallery, had a few words for Cohen after discovering that not only was she duped back in May 2017 but that the Ali G star was the man under the mask - soGallery owner tricked on Who Is America? has a special message for Sacha Baron Cohenmething she only learned while speaking to The Washington Post ahead of the episode.
In the interview, Cones - who admitted she was both “mad and amused” by his actions - recalled thinking Sherman “was a psychological time bomb.” She added: I was like, this guy could blow up, so I should just be as respectful as I can.“
To the shock of the journalist, Cones claims that she believes the paintings presented to her had genuinely been drawn using the actor's faeces.
“When he handed me the painting he said he made in prison with his own waste, it stunk. And then when he went into the bathroom to paint and came out with the portrait of me, it also stunk. I really do think he went in there and painted it from scratch... And that was Sacha Baron Cohen? What a nut case. God bless him.”
She maintained she has no regrets over her appearance on the show which she originally believed to be for a British reality TV programme.
“Am I supposed to be upset? That’s okay. I don’t care. Sacha Baron Cohen doesn’t impress me... I want a follow-up interview. Let’s put it to the test — let’s see the real guy, without the charade. He got this interview to help boost his ratings and his ego. I spent years studying art, in this country, in Greece. So let’s see what he really has. If he wants to play intellectual and butt heads, then come down, and let’s do that for real.”
Cones said she still finds the ideas presented by Sherman “fascinating.”
Who Is America? continues this Sunday (22 July) on AMC with its UK premiere arriving the following evening on Channel 4
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