Borat 2 actor Maria Bakalova says she was ‘kind of scared’ during Giuliani scene and doesn’t feel bad for him

‘I was nervous. My heart was racing,’ says film’s breakout star

Borat 2 actor Maria Bakalova says she was “kind of scared” while filming an infamous scene with Rudy Giuliani.

Bakalova plays Borat’s daughter Tutar in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which was released last month.

At one point during the movie, Bakalova, as Tutar, pretends to interview Giuliani for television. After the two retreat to a hotel room, Giuliani is seen in the edited sequence seemingly putting a hand down his trousers.

Giuliani has said he was never “inappropriate” during the interaction, and that he was “tucking in [his] shirt after taking off the recording equipment”.

In a new interview with The New York Times, Bakalova was asked whether she ever felt in danger while filming the movie.

She credited Sacha Baron Cohen and the film’s security team for making her feel overall safe, adding: “Maybe the scene when we were at the hotel and Rudy Giuliani called the police, I was kind of scared that something would happen. But fortunately, we escaped.”

Asked if she was “nervous” about shooting the scene, Bakalova responded affirmatively.

“I was nervous. My heart was racing,” she said. “But Sacha was like, you should be nervous in this situation. So use your nerves. Convert them and accept them and they’re going to help you through everything.”

Bakalova was also asked whether she feels “bad” for the criticism and ridicule Giuliani has been the subject of since the film’s release.

“You’re responsible for your own decisions. So, no, I don’t feel bad,” she said.

Last month, Giuliani referred to the clip as “a complete fabrication”, adding on Twitter: “At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar.”

Baron Cohen has said he was “quite concerned” for Bakalova during the scene and has urged viewers to watch the film to “make [their] own mind up” about the sequence.