Sacha Baron Cohen loves to push boundaries and with each film he seems to make more enemies. With The Dictator - a character he continues to play during promotion - he's taken on some of his biggest targets yet.
Yesterday Baron Cohen revealed that he had been banned from filming at the United Nations, claiming that a spokesperson told him it was because his film is pro-democracy. When he argued that the only people likely to be offended would be dictators, he said, they pointed out that they represent a lot of dictators.
Today the film was refused permission to screen in Tajikistan on the unlikely premise that all its cinemas are full. But genuine concerns have been expressed about the stereotyping of Arab characters in the film. Baron Cohen is dismissive of these, pointing out that ordinary Arab characters in his film don't behave the way the dictator does. He is unrepentant about riding a camel down the Croisette at Cannes - and about taking it into a waterfront cafe to buy it a coffee.
