Roy Moore Sues Sacha Baron Cohen For $95M Over "Who Is America" Skit

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Republican Senatorial candidate Roy Moore speaks about the race against his Democratic opponent Doug Jones is too close and there will be a recount during his election night party in the RSA Activity Center on December 12, 2017 in Montgomery, Alabama. The candidates are running in a special election to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate.
Roy Moore claims he was tricked into appearing on the show.

Sacha Baron Cohen's no stranger when it comes to controversy and his Showtime program "Who Is America" created just that. Cohen played various characters on the show while interviewing politicians and public figures. Former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore was one of the more notable guests on the show but things didn't end entirely well for him by the end of the segment. Now, he's filing a lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen, CBS and Showtime after claiming he was tricked into appearing on the show.

Roy Moore is taking legal action against Sacha Baron Cohen's Showtime TV program "Who Is America" following his controversial appearance. According to court papers, he claims that he was coaxed into heading to Washington, D.C with the impression that he would be accepting an award for his support for Israel. Ultimately, he was interviewed by Cohen's character "Col. Erran Morad" who waved a fake "pedophile detector" which went off after passing Moore. Moore walked off immediately after.

"This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender, on national and international television, which was widely broadcast in this district on national television and worldwide, has severely harmed Judge Moore’s reputation and caused him, Mrs. Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause Plaintiffs financial damage,” the lawsuit reads.

Moore is suing Cohen, Showtime and CBS for defamation, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Despite the lawsuit, Moore signed a release before taping the show but his legal documents claim that the release acquired fraudulently.

Showtime has released a statement regarding the lawsuit.

“The press has been sent copies of an alleged complaint, yet to our knowledge SHOWTIME has not been served. With that said, we do not comment on pending litigation.” It reads.

Peep the full lawsuit doc below.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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