The 'Borat' actor is victorious in his legal feud with Roy Moore after the Alabama politician accused the Hollywood star of tricking him into appearing in his show 'Who Is America?'.
- July 14, 2021
AceShowbiz - Sacha Baron Cohen has won his legal battle with Roy Moore, three years after the Alabama politician filed a $95 million (£68.7 million) defamation lawsuit against the comedian.
Moore claimed he had been conned into appearing on Cohen's satirical series "Who Is America?", insisting his signature was obtained by fraudulent means.
Moore, who was hit with a series of sexual misconduct with minors allegations during his unsuccessful 2017 Senate bid, was ridiculed by the "Borat" star, in character, on the show.
A federal judge shut down the politician's lawsuit on Tuesday (13Jul21), ruling his claims are "barred by both a waiver clause in the agreement that Judge Moore signed prior to the interview and also by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution."
Judge John P. Cronan added, "The Court agrees that Judge Moore's claims are barred by the unambiguous contractual language, which precludes the very causes of action he now brings."
"It is simply inconceivable that the Program's audience would have found a segment with Judge Moore activating a supposed pedophile-detecting wand to be grounded in any factual basis. Given the satirical nature of that segment and the context in which it was presented, no reasonable viewer would have interpreted Cohen's conduct during the interview as asserting factual statements concerning Judge Moore."
Meanwhile, in separate news, Sacha Baron Cohen is suing a cannabis company who has allegedly used an image of his "Borat" character in an attempt to sell medical marijuana.
The actor has filed a lawsuit against Solar Therapeutics, who he claims is using Borat's face next to his famous tagline "It's nice" on an advertisement for the substance in Massachusetts.
He's denied having any involvement with the company, and doesn't even smoke marijuana - so would never align himself with an advertisement campaign for it.
Cohen is asking for more than $9 million (£6.5 million) in damages, and is asking the court to block Solar Therapeutics from using his name, image and likeness.
