(JTA) — Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin called the humor of Sacha Baron Cohen “evil,” “exploitative” and “truly sick” after she said he fooled her for a segment of his upcoming Showtime series.
“Yup — we were duped. Ya’ got me, Sacha. Feel better now?” Palin wrote in a post on Facebook.
Palin explained that she and her daughter traveled across the country for an interview with what they thought was a disabled American veteran.
“Out of respect for what I was led to believe would be a thoughtful discussion with someone who had served in uniform, I sat through a long ‘interview’ full of Hollywoodism’s disrespect and sarcasm – but finally had enough and literally, physically removed my mic and walked out, much to Cohen’s chagrin,” the one-time Alaska governor wrote. “The disrespect of our US military and middle-class Americans via Cohen’s foreign commentaries under the guise of interview questions was perverse.”
Cohen’s new show “Who Is America?” premieres Sunday on Showtime. The network has touted the show as “the most dangerous … in the history of television” and called Cohen’s latest character “shameless” and “unhinged.” It show will feature an interview with Dick Cheney during which the former vice president happily signs what the comedian calls a “waterboard kit,” according to a promotional video.
“Here is my challenge, shallow Sacha boy: go ahead — air the footage. Experience tells us it will be heavily edited, not pretty, and intended to humiliate,” Palin continued in her post.
She also called on Cohen, CBS and Showtime to donate all proceeds to a charitable group that supports veterans.
“Mock politicians and innocent public personalities all you want, if that lets you sleep at night, but HOW DARE YOU mock those who have fought and served our country,” she also wrote, calling it “truly sick.”
