RIVERSIDE, CA (FOX 11) - A Riverside gun store owner has harsh words for Sacha Baron Cohen after he says he caught the actor showing up to his business in disguise and under false pretense, and it was all caught on surveillance video.
The video was provided exclusively to FOX 11.
It happened at Warrior One Guns & Ammo in February 2017. That’s when owner Norris Sweidan told FOX 11 Cohen and a camera met him while claiming to be filming a documentary about a Hungarian immigrant wanting to buy a gun.
“He comes in, off the bat you can see in the video I’m looking like, this guy does not look like a Hungarian immigrant, tight ass leather pants, a beard, it just didn’t fit,†Sweidan said. “The moment his words came out of his mouth I was like this guy is full of s***.â€
Sweidan told FOX 11 Cohen said he wanted to buy a gun, but said it with a very odd sounding accent he didn’t find credible.
“I’m looking at the producer and I’m just like am I being fooled right here?†Sweidan said. “And I just kept looking at the guy and I was like you’re Borat, as soon as I said that his eyes just looked at me like, and he did a turn right out the door.â€
He says after Cohen left the store, he left his crew behind.
“We’re talking to the people they don’t wanna give us an answer, we basically told them to get the f*** out, you guys are all full of s***, have a great day, get out,†Sweidan said.
He said it’s obvious what Cohen’s intentions were.
“Once I knew it was Borat, we already know his game and his bull*****, so we knew he’s here to make a mockery, and of what? Gun owners? The gun business, gun shops,†Sweidan said.
He believes Cohen meant to use it as a segment in his new program on Showtime called “Who is America?†which recently aired its first episode, and showed some gun rights advocates promoting arming children while filming segments with Cohen, who was in an Israeli disguise.
Sweidan can’t believe the men fell for the disguise.
“You’ve got some gun advocate holding a bunny on some gun, if you’re a gun advocate, what the f*** are you doing holding a gun with a bunny on it, really?†He said.
Sweidan believes Cohen targeted his store because its very well known, and it’s in the process of filming a show called Down the Barrel.
And he says, Cohen and Showtime picked the wrong guy to mess with.
“He was fake, the producers were fake, the show was fake, and Showtime is fake to be honest with you,†he said. “They want a real story, come talk to us. Well give you a real story.â€
Showtime told FOX 11 the company has no comment in response to this report.
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