Sacha Baron Cohen hoodwinks numerous celebrities and high-profile figures in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, so who gets trolled? The 2020 sequel released 14 years after its cinematic predecessor, Borat, and follows a Kazakh journalist who attempts to save his life by restoring the honor of his native country. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the lead-up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Cohen reprised his infamous character for another comedic commentary about American culture, which released on Amazon shortly before the final debate between President Donald Trump and the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm centers on Borat's attempts to bribe powerful American politicians. After serving 14 years in a labor camp (as punishment for embarrassing Kazakhstan in the 2006 film), Borat travels to the United States with Jonny the Monkey, only to discover that his 15-year-old daughter Tutar made the trip too, and ate her father's gift. In the original Borat, Cohen's character tried to impress a true Hollywood celebrity, Pamela Anderson. For the sequel, though, Borat is primarily invested in finding the ideal American politician to marry Tutar. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was directed by Jason Woliner.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm doesn't include that many A-list celebrity cameos, though Oscar-winner Tom Hanks does briefly appear in a COVID-19-themed sequence. The film's premise leads Cohen's characters to high-ranking government officials, and the most controversial scene involves prominent American attorney Rudy Giuliani. Here's every celebrity who is mocked, featured and referenced in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
Donald & Melania Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump doesn't appear in the Amazon Prime film, though he's repeatedly referenced by Borat. In fact, the second act begins with Cohen disguising himself as Trump in order to gain the attention of a U.S. politician at the 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. Borat interrupts a speech while carrying Tutar on his back, and leaves the conference by saying "You're fired" - a reference to Trump's reality TV slogan from The Apprentice.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm also mocks Trump and wife Melania with a fake cartoon. The film begins with Tutar watching an animated fairytale called "Melania," with the narrator describing the subject as formerly being a "lowly peasant girl" who came from "the s**thole country Slovenia" and dreamed of marrying a "rich old man." The moment foreshadows what's to come, as Tutar manages to escape her dire living conditions in Kazakhstan and then plans to marry a U.S. politician. The "Melania" cartoon is shown again later, this time with the "Fat King" (Trump) having a "turgid" experience when first meeting his bride-to-be. The narrator also references an infamous hidden mic moment when Trump made a lewd comment to Access Hollywood's Billy Bush. When Tutar's real-life fairy tale transformation is nearly complete in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, the teenage character admits that she feels "like Melania."
Mike Pence
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is the target of Cohen's prank at 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference. Disguised as Trump, Borat identifies the politician as "Michael Pen-is" and uses a crude nickname to poke fun at Pence's conservative beliefs about women. In March 2017, it was reported that the vice president never eats alone with a woman other than his wife, Karen, which seems to be the foundation for many of Cohen's zingers. Borat originally plans to offer Jonny the Monkey to Pence, and then decides to use his own daughter as a gift. After the CPAC fiasco, Borat and Tutar brainstorm and settle on Trump's personal attorney as their next target.
Rudy Giuliani
The most controversial scene in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm takes place near the end. Tutar arranges for an interview with Giuliani, claiming that she's a journalist named Grace Sagdiyev from the conservative publication "Patriot's Report." At The Mark Hotel in New York City, Tutar questions Giuliani about China, terrorism, and Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all the while suggesting that she wants to do more than talk about politics. Borat crashes the interview as a fake audio technician, and then argues with his daughter about cancelling the plan. Tutar moves forward with the interview, and then invites the lawyer into a bedroom for a drink. After she takes off Giuliani's microphone, the politician appears to put his hand down his pants. Borat rushes into the room wearing little clothing, and offers himself as a sexual partner. "She 15. She too old for you," Cohen says while in character before trolling Giuliani as he exits the room.
Whereas much of the Amazon Prime film appears to be staged, the Giuliani sequence is indeed real. On Twitter, the lawyer called the video a "fabrication," and claimed that he didn't do anything inappropriate. Giuliani also states that he was merely trying to make an adjustment to his pants after removing his microphone. Cohen and company may have manipulated the footage, but Giuliani does indeed appear to be somewhat flirty while speaking with the fake journalist.
Kevin Spacey
Disgraced actor Kevin Spacey is referenced by name in the final minutes of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. After Borat returns to Kazakhstan and makes a deal with the government, he reveals that his country is now a feminist nation. With the mail-order bride business deemed to be too misogynistic, Kazakhstan decides to import and export grooms. A crate carrying six suit-and-tie men is addressed to "Mr. K. Spacey" in Hollywood, California - a reference to numerous allegations of sexual misconduct made against the actor by young men.
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks makes a brief cameo near the end of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. When Borat returns to Kazakhstan, he discovers that the government used him as a "Patient Zero" pawn to spread the Coronavirus all over the world. The sequences references Chazz Palminteri's famous coffee mug drop in The Usual Suspects as Borat reflects about past conversations and how he presumably spread COVID-19. In a 10-second sequence, Cohen's character meets Hanks in Sydney, Australia and asks him to "make autograph." Borat then coughs on the actor, who is visibly displeased.
In real life, Hanks revealed that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020. Two weeks later, they returned to America. The film implies that Hanks acquired the virus in Australia, when in fact the famous actor was already infected upon arriving to shoot the upcoming biopic Elvis.
Bill & Hillary Clinton
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm includes a sequence that references Bill and Hillary Clinton. Cohen's character meets two men named Jerry Holleman and Jim Russell who claim that Democrats are responsible for "the plague" (COVID-19), and that the Clintons are especially evil. Jim implies that the politicians are part of an underground ring that tortures children and drinks their blood. Borat shows Jerry and Jim a booklet from the Kazakstan Ministry of Agriculture and Wildlife, which depicts lewd drawings of doctors taking advantage of women during childbirth. The two men suggest that Borat has been misled about the truth, and that it's "a conspiracy."
The Clinton-themed sequence references QAnon, a a group of conspiracy theorists who believe that Trump is overseeing an underground war against Hollywood and pedophilia. Membership for QAnon Facebook groups spiked in March 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across America and forced people to stay home. One of the main QAnon conspiracy theories is that the Clintons are responsible for the deterioration of America, and that they do indeed drink the blood of children. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm pokes fun at QAnon by showing how Jerry and Jim believe wild and unconfirmed rumors about the Clintons, but take a righteous stance when Borat discusses the disturbing (fictional) customs of his native country.
Macy Chanel
Instagram influencer Macy Chanel appears as herself in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, meeting with Tutar to discuss a makeover and how to be an effective "sugar baby." In response to learning that she should act "weak," Tutar states that she's strong and then opens a beer bottle with her butt (which prompts the influencer to re-focus with her approach). On Instagram, Chanel initially implied that she wasn't in on the joke but has since revised her statement to make it seem like she was:
ORIGINAL STATEMENT: “I learned that I was featured in Borat 2 earlier this week. Total shocker, I just watched it – it is #hilarious, as expected from @sachabaroncohen. I stayed in character throughout the entire time as any actor would! Yes, Cohen got me …but, kinda sad how he elicits ‘reality’.”
REVISED STATEMENT: "Shocker, I was featured in Borat 2 earlier this week. I just watched it – it is #hilarious, as expected from @sachabaroncohen. Just like Tutar, I stayed in character throughout the entire time."
Dog The Bounty Hunter
Borat references Dog the Bounty Hunter at the 21-minute mark in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. After Tutar meets with Chanel, Borat asks a local beautician to "make a hotsie out of this notsie." He pulls out a photo of Duane Chapman, a reality TV bounty hunter known as "Dog," and suggests that his daughter should have a similar hairstyle. In response, the hairstylist informs Borat that "This is actually a gentleman." Dog the Bounty Hunter is referenced a second time when Borat later identifies him as a female driver.
Other People Referenced In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Stormy Daniels: Before Borat prepares Tutar to meet Pence, he keeps her in a cage and implies that it's better than the cage of Trump's wife before Melania - Stormy Daniels. In actuality, the film references Trump 2006 affair sexual with Daniels, a popular porn star, as revealed in a 2018 report.
Jeffrey Epstein: After serving 14 years in a labor camp, Borat discovers that his son, Hueylewis, changed his name to Jeffrey Epstein - the result of familial shame. The punchline is that the late Epstein, an American businessman, was a notorious sexual predator who targeted young women (and thus a more shameful man than Borat).
Huey Lewis: Borat's son was named after American singer Huey Lewis, whose band Huey Lewis and the News is prominently featured in the Back to the Future soundtrack.
Stephen Miller: Borat arrives at CPAC wearing a KKK outfit and claims that he's Stephen Miller, the Senior Advisor to Donald Trump who supported immigration policies that were once used by Adolf Hitler, the former leader of the Nazi Party during World War II.
Sarah Jessica Parker: At the Macon Debutante Ball, Tutar uses the fake name Sandra Jessica Parker - a reference to Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker.
Justin Trudeau: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm begins with a reference to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a 2019 blackface scandal.