Who is America? Sacha Baron Cohen series criticised over rape skit

Viewers say rape should not be subject of comedy

Sacha Baron Cohen has been criticised over a skit that features a reference to rape in his forthcoming series Who Is America?.

The comedian, best known for his roles as Ali G, Borat, and Bruno, has sparked controversy for his new seven-episode TV series which premiered on US cable channel Showtime on Sunday.

The show sees the British prankster take on four different personas as he takes a satirical look at life in America with Donald Trump in the White House.

The 46-year-old uses the series to shine a light on the dark side of an increasingly ideologically polarised country – addressing contentious issues such as gun laws and immigration.

In one skit, Cohen goes undercover as an Israeli terrorism expert named Erran Morad, who says to Larry Pratt, lobbyist and executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America: “It’s not rape if it’s your wife,” with Pratt laughing in response.

But some viewers condemned Cohen – saying rape was not an issue which should be joked about.

Marital rape in America was first criminalised in the 1970s, and has been illegal in all 50 states since 1993, but some exemptions have been made in individual states since then.

“Raping your wife is not funny. Dirtbag new Sacha Baron Cohen series Who Is America? faces fresh controversy over rape skit,” one critic tweeted.

“Here's my real problem with Sacha Baron Cohen making rape jokes. What is funny about using someone else's severe life-altering pain as a gag to make a third party look bad? If you're a master of comedy, you should do better than this,” added another.

But others rushed to Cohen’s defence and argued he had simply been trying to expose a man for overtly laughing about rape in a marriage.

“People are so dumb. Of course rape isn't funny. Cohen is going over the line to show the inadequacies of empathy in humanity. You should be more worried about Larry Pratt laughing when he says it,” said one.

“What’s worse? Cohen’s character making the joke that 'it’s not rape if she’s your wife' or Larry Pratt honestly belly laughing at it? How else would we get to see this side of his monstrous personality?” added another.

Cohen’s new series shows a number current and former Republican lawmakers endorsing a fake program which would arm toddlers with guns.

While in character as Erran Morrad, Cohen proposes a program called 'Kinderguardians' which he pitches to the members of Congress, including Dana Rohrbacher, Joe Walsh and former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott as training toddlers in how to fire guns.

Representative Joe Wilson supports the idea, saying: “A 3-year-old cannot defend itself from an assault rifle by throwing a Hello Kitty pencil case at it. Our founding fathers did not put an age limit on the second amendment.”

Gun activists Pratt and Philip van Cleave also lend their backing - with Cohen managing to get the latter to record a promotional video in support.

The show is not yet available to watch in Britain but will air on Channel 4 at 9pm on Monday night.

The Independent contacted a representative of Pratt and Cohen for comment.