Showtime is not having Sarah Palin's lies about Sacha Baron Cohen's show

"There has been widespread misinformation over the past week."
 By 
Angie Han
 on 
Showtime is not having Sarah Palin's lies about Sacha Baron Cohen's show
Sarah Palin in 2016. Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Sacha Baron Cohen isn't done with Sarah Palin.

Following Palin's claims that Baron Cohen "duped" her into an interview for Who Is America? by passing himself off as an American veteran with disabilities, "fake wheelchair and all," Showtime has released a statement calling out the "widespread misinformation" about the show.

"Baron Cohen did not present himself as a disabled veteran, and viewers nationwide who watched the premiere on Sunday can now attest to that," said the network.

The episode showed Baron Cohen disguised as Dr. Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D. to interview Sen. Bernie Sanders. When Sanders asks if he lives with disabilities, "Ruddick" responds that he is not. Though Ruddick uses a mobility scooter, he explains that it's just "to conserve my body's finite energy."

Ruddick is the same character Baron Cohen adopted while speaking with Palin, for a segment that has yet to air. "In both the interview with Governor Palin and the interview with Senator Sanders, he did not wear military apparel of any kind," Showtime explains.

Palin had previously described Baron Cohen's stunt on Facebook as "evil, exploitive, and sick," blasting him for his "disrespect."

For his part, Baron Cohen responded in character on Twitter, writing, "I did NOT say I was a War Vet."

In the same Facebook post, Palin told Baron Cohen to "go ahead – air the footage."

But it seems pretty clear at this point that whatever ends up airing, it's not gonna be a good look for Palin.

Topics Politics

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Angie Han

Angie Han is the Deputy Entertainment Editor at Mashable. Previously, she was the managing editor of Slashfilm.com. She writes about all things pop culture, but mostly movies, which is too bad since she has terrible taste in movies.

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