Donald Trump has labelled Sacha Baron Cohen “a phoney guy” and “a creep” after the British comedian featured the president’s lawyer in his new Borat movie.
The mockumentary – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm – shows Rudy Giuliani in what appears to be a compromising position in a hotel room with a young woman acting as a journalist.
When asked about the incident while on his private jet Air Force One, Mr Trump said he didn’t know what had happened.
However, he did have an opinion on Baron Cohen, telling reporters: “You know, years ago, he tried to scam me.
“And I was the only one that said: ‘No way. This guy is a phoney guy.’ I don’t find him funny. To me, he’s a creep.”
Mr Trump was briefly interviewed on Baron Cohen’s Da Ali G Show in 2003, but walked away from the cameras after just a minute.
Meanwhile, Mr Giuliani has insisted the Borat footage is “a complete fabrication” – and says his hand was only tucking his shirt in.
In the film, which is the sequel to the 2006 Borat original, Mr Giuliani is shown on a bed with his hand down his trousers after the young woman helps him remove recording equipment.
He tweeted to say he was not at any time “inappropriate” in the scene, accusing Baron Cohen of being a “stone-cold liar”.
Mr Giuliani told his 841,000 followers he has “called the police” over the matter.
Meanwhile another scene in the movie shows the actress – who plays Borat’s “15-year-old” daughter – coming within feet of Mr Trump and shaking hands with his son Donald Jr.
In a clip shared on Borat’s official Twitter account, Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, who plays Tutar, appears to be in the same room as the president at what we’re told is The White House.
A voice-over says “no need for security checks or COVID test, they boring”.
Just what 2020 needs – a giant, semi-naked Borat inflatable
Seeming to pose as a TV journalist in the clip, dated 20 September, Tutar asks one reporter: “Why is all the fake journalists for the left and none on the right?”
The White House has not commented on the apparent security breach.
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Earlier this week, a large inflatable Borat was floated down the Thames to publicise the movie.
The critical response to Borat 2, which follows the fictional Kazakh journalist on a trip to the US, has been largely positive.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.