Sacha Baron Cohen reveals the Borat stunt that incited far-right riots: ‘They would’ve beaten me senseless'

Highly anticipated ‘Borat’ sequel is scheduled for release on 23 October

Sacha Baron Cohen has revealed which of his stunts incited a homophobic “near riot” and caused him to fear for his life.

The actor, best known for his mockumentary in which he portrays the Kazakhstani reporter Borat, opened up about his most dangerous acts in an article written for Time magazine.

Cohen recalled a specific moment in Arkansas when filming Bruno. The actor he posed as an ultimate fighter in a cage match and challenged anyone in the audience to fight him.

“When my fake ex-boyfriend volunteered, we engaged in some heavy petting, triggering a near riot,” he wrote. “The crowd – including some recently paroled prisoners with swastika tattoos – erupted in homophobic slurs and started hurtling metal chairs at us.”

The comedian continued to describe the frightening experience, writing: “Had I not ducked into a trapdoor and out an escape tunnel, I think the crowd would have beaten me senseless.”

Cohen recalled a similarly dangerous encounter that occurred more recently, during filming for the forthcoming Borat sequel.

The 48-year-old made headlines over the summer when he attended a gun-rights rally in Washington and encouraged attendees to sing a racist song with him, which then incited a riot.

“When organizers finally stormed the stage, I rushed to a nearby getaway vehicle. An angry crowd blocked our way and started pounding on the vehicle with their fists,” he said. “Under my overalls, I was wearing a bulletproof vest, but it felt inadequate with some people outside toting semiautomatic weapons.”

The actor continued: “When someone ripped open the door to drag me out, I used my entire body weight to pull the door back shut until our vehicle maneuvered free. I was fortunate to make it out in one piece.”

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Cohen shared the anecdotes as part of his article condemning Donald Trump. In it, he also denounces Facebook as the president’s “dutiful ally”, calling the social media platform “the greatest propaganda machine in history”.

The piece, published yesterday (8 October), comes less than a month before the US election on 3 November.