Published : 29 Aug 2026, 09:56 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:36 AM
Sacha Baron Cohen’s return as Ali G after more than two decades has run into a growing backlash, with campaigners urging cinemas to boycott the new film over accusations that the character relies on racist stereotypes.
The controversy has intensified since the trailer for "Ali G: Who Iz I?" was released earlier this week, according to Variety.
The Amazon MGM mockumentary, due in cinemas on Oct 23, brings back Cohen’s faux “rude boy” character, who first appeared on British television in 1998 and later starred in the 2002 film "Ali G Indahouse".
The trailer shows Ali G wearing fake dreadlocks and a Rastafarian-style hat, while also joking about wanting to be an absent father — elements that quickly drew criticism after the footage appeared online.
Social-media reaction has been sharply divided, with some users describing the character as an “outdated” and “racist” caricature that has no place on screens in 2026, while others have welcomed his return.
British media-monitoring platform NewsCord launched a campaign on Wednesday calling on cinema chains in Britain and overseas not to screen the film.
The group sends emails to major cinema operators on behalf of people who register their support for the campaign and said that, by Friday, it had been instructed to send more than 36,000 messages. TheWrap subsequently reported the figure had passed 37,000.
NewsCord argues that Cohen’s use of satire does not erase what it regards as harmful racial stereotyping.
Its campaign has also revived criticism of Ali G that dates back almost to the character’s beginnings, citing a 2000 debate in which Black British comedians questioned whether the act allowed audiences to laugh at Black street culture while retaining the defence that they were laughing at satire.
Who is Ali G Supposed to Be?
Ali G first appeared on Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show in 1998 before becoming the central character of "Da Ali G Show" and eventually making the jump to cinema.
Cohen conceived him as an ignorant white man imitating urban British hip-hop and Jamaican culture. The intended target of the joke was Ali G himself — his ignorance, pretensions and appropriation of a culture he did not understand.
The character became an immediate success and helped propel Cohen from British television to international fame.
But whether audiences were always laughing at Ali G’s ignorance — rather than the Black culture he imitated — became contentious almost immediately.
In 2000, comedian Felix Dexter argued that much of the humour allowed liberal middle-class audiences to laugh at Black street culture while still regarding themselves as politically correct.
Other Black British performers also questioned the character at the time.
The Guardian reported that Curtis Walker called the depiction degrading, while Richard Blackwood expressed concern that some viewers might mistake Ali G’s behaviour for an authentic representation of Black people.
Writer Jeanette Winterson later drew an even harsher comparison, questioning what separated the character from the racially stereotyped Black and White Minstrel Show.
Those arguments have now resurfaced more than a quarter of a century later, with NewsCord explicitly invoking the earlier criticism to argue that objections to Ali G were never fully resolved.
Cohen Unfazed
Cohen, however, has shown little sign of backing away from the character.
Posting the trailer on X, he joked that in an era when a comedian’s career could be ended by an “un-PC joke”, he had decided to “play it safe” by bringing Ali G back.
The comeback has also drawn support from prominent figures, with rapper A$AP Rocky and NBA star Kevin Durant among those welcoming the character’s return, Variety reported.
Reports that the boycott campaign has already persuaded a major British cinema chain to drop the film should meanwhile be treated cautiously.
NewsCord publicised a response from Picturehouse saying it currently had no plans to screen “Ali G: Who Iz I?”, but Variety reported that the message was a standard response for films the chain had not yet booked and did not represent a decision to join the boycott.
Phil Clapp, head of the UK Cinema Association, told Variety that cinemas were not there to act as censors and would decide whether to show certified films based on how they expected audiences to respond.
Amazon MGM has not publicly addressed the substance of the boycott campaign. Variety said it had contacted the studio and Baron Cohen’s representatives for comment.
"Ali G: Who Iz I?" remains scheduled for release on Oct 23.
