Fans raise thousands of dollars for Jeanise Jones, the babysitter in Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, who was paid just $3,600 to appear in Sacha Baron Cohen's movie. The surprise sequel, produced in secret by star and creator of the character Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen, was released on Amazon Prime last week.
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The follow-up to the smash hit 2006 mockumentary once again takes aim at some of the more unsavory elements of modern American society and made headlines worldwide for a scene involving former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani touching himself on screen.
The biggest surprise of Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is Cohen being completely upstaged in the performance stakes by the actor who plays Borat's daughter Tutar, Maria Bakalova. The young Bulgarian actor portrays the character perfectly, convincing several people she's the real deal. That includes Jones, who is enlisted to babysit the supposedly 15-year-old girl during the movie. Yesterday, it was revealed Jones felt betrayed by the filmmakers, as didn't know she wasn't in a real documentary until the first trailer emerged. It was also revealed she was paid just $3,600 for her appearance.
As a result, Jones' pastor, Derrick Scobey, who helped get her involved in the movie, set up a fundraising page on GoFundMe to help her out. On the fundraising page, Scobey says that Jones lost her job of 32 years due to the pandemic and needs help paying bills. The call was heeded, as over $82,000 has been donated by more than 3,500 donors, and the number is only climbing. The fundraising target is $100,000, and it now seems as though that number will be reached easily.
It's a positive ending to what seemed, initially like a very troubling story. Multiple ethical questions can be asked of Cohen and the production team on Borat: Subsequent MovieFilm's decision to keep Jones in the dark about her appearance, not to mention the decision to pay her very little. It had the potential to become yet another considerable controversy surrounding the movie. Cohen was already in trouble with a lawsuit, only recently dismissed from another interviewee who appeared in the film.
But it's a good sign that fans have taken up the cause themselves and are helping Jones out in her time of need. Hopefully, Cohen himself donated, given that he's made a great deal of profit on this film, and used Jones as the so-called "moral compass" of a central plot point. Hopefully, this is the last controversy to emerge from Borat: Subsequent MovieFilm and audiences can watch the comedy without feeling like they are supporting someone in the wrong.
Source: Derrick Scobey/GoFundMe
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