That Controversial Borat 2 Scene Is Now Online For All To See

A lot happens in the new Borat movie, a sequel to the 2006 original that launched leading man Sacha Baron Cohen into the spotlight with a hearty "very nice!", but there's one moment in particular that has everyone talking. 

Officially titled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, the Borat sequel touched down on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, October 23 — to much fanfare. After the world caught wind that Baron Cohen — who reprises his role as the fictional journalist from Kazakhstan, Borat Sagdiyev – filmed the Borat sequel in secret, fans were keen to see what the second round of mockumentary antics would entail. This time around, after the events of Borat have shamed the titular character's home country and seen him thrown in jail for 14 years, Borat discovers that he has a 15-year-old daughter named Tutar (Maria Bakalova) ... whom he wants to teach to become a perfect "gift" for Vice President Mike Pence. As the movie's title suggests, this is in an effort to repair Kazakhstan's reputation.

Of course, Borat 2 features plenty of jaw-dropping scenes, things that only Baron Cohen's mind could come up with, and a hefty serving of political and social commentary. It seems the most controversial scene of all is one involving Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City and current personal attorney of President Donald Trump. The scene has now been uploaded to YouTube, available for everyone to see. 

The moment occurs at the height of the film's action, and sees Giuliani in a scene with Maria Bakalova, the actress who plays 15-year-old Tutar Sagdiyev. (In real life, Bakalova is 24 years old, according to IMDb.) Here, Bakalova's Tutar is masquerading as a journalist who admires Giuliani and who is nervous to be interviewing him.

When the interview, held inside a hotel suite, is over, Giuliani and Bakalova move to another room, and Giuliani sits down on the bed. He then tells her she can give him her email address and phone number, pats her on the lower back, and appears to lean back on the bed and begin adjusting his pants after Bakalova adjusts his shirt. Baron Cohen, in disguise, then bursts into the room, tells Giuliani that the interviewer is 15 years old and also his daughter, and breaks up the encounter. 

As with the original Borat movie, much of the sequel is comprised of real-life interactions with people who don't know that they're involved in a movie, and that the people they're talking to are actors playing parts and not legitimate journalists, cameramen, or what have you. Though Giuliani didn't know the interview was fake in the moment, many have expressed concern and outrage at Giuliani's interactions with Bakalova regardless, as his behavior could be viewed as inappropriate at best and possible sexual assault at worst. 

According to Page Six, Giuliani quickly called New York police after all that went down, realizing he must have been pranked. He told the outlet in July 2020, "This person comes in yelling and screaming, and I thought this must be a scam or a shake-down, so I reported it to the police. He then ran away. I only later realized it must have been Sacha Baron Cohen. I thought about all the people he previously fooled and I felt good about myself because he didn't get me."

At the time, Giuliani even said that he is "a fan of some of [Baron Cohen's] movies, Borat in particular, because [he's] been to Kazakhstan."

Following the release of Borat 2 and the controversy that's sparked around his controversial scene, Giuliani took to Twitter to address the situation. In a multi-tweet thread, the GOP-affiliated attorney defended himself, calling the moment "a complete fabrication" and alleging that Baron Cohen is a liar.

"The Borat video is a complete fabrication. I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment. At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar," wrote Giuliani. "In fact, the NY Post today reports 'it looks to me like an exaggeration through editing.' As soon as I realized it was a set up I called the police, which has been noted in THR article on July 8th." (Here, Giuliani is referring to an article from The Hollywood Reporter that cites the original Page Six report about him phoning the police.)

Giuliani continued, arguing that this is meant to be a distraction from his involvement in the current U.S. presidential race between incumbent president Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. 

"This is an effort to blunt my relentless exposure of the criminality and depravity of Joe Biden and his entire family. Deadline Hollywood reports CAA had a distribution screening in September where there was no mention of the scene holding any importance," he tweeted. "We are preparing much bigger dumps off of the hard drive from hell, of which Joe Biden will be unable to defend or hide from. I have the receipts."

During an October 23 appearance on Good Morning America, the same day Borat 2 debuted, Baron Cohen responded to Giuliani's remarks. He shared that he wholeheartedly disagrees with what the former Mayor is claiming, and thinks people need only watch the scene to make up their minds about the situation.

"Well, I would say that if the President's lawyer found what he did there appropriate behavior, then heaven knows what he's done with other female journalists in hotel rooms. I just urge everyone to watch the movie. It is what it is. He did what he did. Make your own mind up. It was pretty clear to us," Baron Cohen said. He then added that he was "quite concerned" for Bakalova during the scene: "We built a hideaway I was hiding in during the scene. I was monitoring her by text. It's my responsibility as a producer as well to assure the lead actor is looked after."

Bakalova, on the other hand, assured that she didn't feel like she was in any danger during the scene with Giuliani. She said on Good Morning America, "I've always felt safe with our team, with our crew, with Sacha in my corner. I actually never felt that I've been in danger. That's why I'm lucky, because I had them."

On the official Twitter account for Borat Sagdiyev, Baron Cohen released an in-character video addressing the Giuliani situation — coming to the attorney's defense.

"I here to defend America's Mayor, Rudolph Giuliani. What was an innocent sexytime encounter between a consenting man and my 15-year-old daughter have been turned into something disgusting by fake news media," he states in the clip. "I warn you. Anyone else try this, and Rudolph will not hesitate to reach into his legal briefs and whip out his subpoenas."

Overall, this situation is unexpected and uncomfortable, though that is the kind of content associated with the Borat franchise. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.