Backlash against Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Ali G film is intensifying, with campaigners urging cinemas to refuse to screen the movie over allegations that it relies on racist stereotypes.
NewsCord, a UK-based media monitoring organisation, has launched a campaign targeting cinema chains in Britain and overseas. The group says more than 37,000 emails have been sent to exhibitors calling for Ali G: Who Iz I? to be left off their programmes.
The campaign follows the release of a trailer for the film, which shows Baron Cohen reviving the character in a mockumentary featuring encounters with members of the public.
Critics have objected to Ali G’s use of exaggerated slang and elements associated with Black British and Jamaican culture. The trailer also shows the character wearing long dreadlocks and a Rastafarian hat, while discussing his desire to be an “absent” father.
NewsCord has accused the comedian of using satire as a cover for reinforcing harmful racial stereotypes. Its campaign refers to criticism from Black British comedians in 2000, when Ali G was described as an “alibi for racism”.
The film is due to be released in cinemas on 23 October 2026 and marks the character’s first feature-length outing since Ali G Indahouse in 2002. Baron Cohen co-wrote, directed and produced the new project, which is being released by Amazon MGM Studios.
Picturehouse Cinemas, which operates 25 venues in the UK, has told the Independent that it “currently do[es] not have any plans to screen this film on its release”. The chain has not said whether its position is connected to the campaign, and reports have cautioned that the wording may be a standard response for films not yet scheduled.
Baron Cohen has defended the decision to bring Ali G back. In a message accompanying the trailer, he wrote: “In an age where a comedian’s career can be ended by a single un-PC joke, I thought I’d play it safe and bring this guy back.”
The campaign is continuing to appeal to major cinema groups, including Odeon, Cineworld, Vue and Everyman, as exhibitors decide whether to book the film ahead of its October release.
