Showtime defends Sacha Baron Cohen against "stolen valor" claim

[Ubiquitous]

Showtime has issued a statement slamming critics of Sacha Baron Cohen
as spreading fake— um, “widespread misinformation.”

In an unusual statement from the network, Showtime pushed back on
claims that one of the comedian’s latest characters is a disabled
veteran.

“There has been widespread misinformation over the past week about
the character of Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D., performed by Sacha
Baron Cohen on the Showtime comedy series Who Is America,” read the
statement. “Baron Cohen did not present himself as a disabled
veteran, and viewers nationwide who watched the premiere on Sunday
can now attest to that. In Sunday’s episode, during an interview with
Senator Bernie Sanders, Baron Cohen in character as Dr. Ruddick was
asked by the Senator if he is disabled, and he stated that he is not
and uses a mobility scooter to conserve his energy. In addition,
Baron Cohen never presented himself as a veteran of the U.S. military
to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during the booking process or
during the filming of her interview, and contrary to her claims he
did not appear in a wheelchair. In both the interview with Governor
Palin and the interview with Senator Sanders, he did not wear
military apparel of any kind.”

Palin led the charge against the Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr. character
after outing herself as being duped by Baron Cohen last Tuesday and
was the first to say he was posing as a disabled veteran — or, at
least, that’s how his costume appeared to her. Conservatives have
blasted Showtime and Baron Cohen for apparent “stolen valor.” On
Monday, a billboard in Hollywood for Showtime parent company CBS
Corp.’s Young Sheldon was papered over by a street artist with a mock
Who Is America? ad also alleging the military impersonation claim.

Showtime’s statement is rather odd given its timing, however. The
network was contacted repeatedly by news outlets about Palin and
other “duped” claims and replied to all requests with “no comment.”
The network could have cleared up such “misinformation” before it
became “widespread” by noting that “Dr. Ruddick” was not a military
veteran character a week ago.

Here’s a clip of the character talking to Sen. Bernie Sanders so you
can better judge for yourself:

https://youtu.be/hiGEh7UoMYg

The premiere episode reviews were a bit all over the map, with EW’s
Darren Franich delivering a C+ verdict. Who Is America? airs Sunday
nights on Showtime.


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