Sacha Baron Cohen apologized to the people of Kazakhstan for the character of Borat. The British actor Sacha Baron Cohen, who played the journalist Borat Segdaev in the comedy "Borat: Exploring American Culture for the Benefit of the Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", apologized to the people of Kazakhstan for the first time for playing the hero. According to the artist, the character of Borat was built on the ignorance of his interlocutors, who were ready to believe unconditionally in any absurd stereotypes about regions of the world they know little about. The actor announced this on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. The British himself promised that he respects the people and culture of Kazakhstan. At the same time, the actor admitted that when determining the nationality of the hero, he mistakenly chose Kazakhstan based on the principle: then "no one knew anything" about this country. Cohen clarified that Borat's nationality changed during filming according to the network that financed the project. Initially, Borat was seen as a native of Albania, then he was presented as a native of Moldova, and later they decided to make him Kazakh. "I thought: Is there a country in the world that no one knows anything about? Kazakhstan! "- explained the actor. Cohen also admitted that he used a standard foreign accent, and his knowledge of the speech patterns of Central Asians is extremely limited. "I want to apologize to the people of Kazakhstan for the first time. I wish you no harm. I respect your people and your culture. Please don't take it personally," the comedian said. In 2020, after the release of the sequel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan stated that the film contained a prominent form of racism and xenophobia. "Our citizens are justifiably outraged by the blatant racist attacks," the department said at the time.

Sacha Baron Cohen apologized to the people of Kazakhstan for the character of Borat. The British actor Sacha Baron Cohen, who played the journalist Borat Segdaev in the comedy "Borat: Exploring American Culture for the Benefit of the Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", apologized to the people of Kazakhstan for the first time for playing the hero. According to the artist, the character of Borat was built on the ignorance of his interlocutors, who were ready to believe unconditionally in any absurd stereotypes about regions of the world they know little about. The actor announced this on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. The British himself promised that he respects the people and culture of Kazakhstan. At the same time, the actor admitted that when determining the nationality of the hero, he mistakenly chose Kazakhstan based on the principle: then "no one knew anything" about this country. Cohen clarified that Borat's nationality changed during filming according to the network that financed the project. Initially, Borat was seen as a native of Albania, then he was presented as a native of Moldova, and later they decided to make him Kazakh. "I thought: Is there a country in the world that no one knows anything about? Kazakhstan! "- explained the actor. Cohen also admitted that he used a standard foreign accent, and his knowledge of the speech patterns of Central Asians is extremely limited. "I want to apologize to the people of Kazakhstan for the first time. I wish you no harm. I respect your people and your culture. Please don't take it personally," the comedian said. In 2020, after the release of the sequel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan stated that the film contained a prominent form of racism and xenophobia. "Our citizens are justifiably outraged by the blatant racist attacks," the department said at the time.