‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ Faces Theater Boycott Calls After Trailer Sparks Backlash over Racist Stereotypes

Sacha Baron Cohen has never shied away from courting controversy, building an entire career on pushing satire into uncomfortable territory. But his latest project is testing just how far that formula still holds up in today’s cultural climate, more than two decades after the character first made him famous.

That character is Ali G, the deliberately clueless wannabe rapper who first appeared on British television back in 1998 before headlining the 2002 film ‘Ali G Indahouse.’ Now Cohen is bringing the character back for ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?,’ a mockumentary marking his feature directorial debut, following Ali G’s attempt to relaunch his career more than twenty years after his last big-screen outing.

Since the trailer’s release, backlash against the film has grown rapidly, with critics accusing the character of leaning on outdated and racist stereotypes. Cohen appears in the footage wearing fake dreadlocks and a Rastafarian hat, discussing his desire to be an “absent” father, imagery and dialogue that has reignited decades-old criticism of the character’s foundations.

That criticism has now escalated into an organized campaign. Media monitoring platform NewsCord launched an effort urging cinemas worldwide not to screen the film, accusing Cohen of using satire as what the group called a “cover for enforcing racist stereotypes.” According to reporting, the campaign has generated more than 36,000 emails sent to major theater chains as part of the push.

The campaign’s messaging draws heavily on longstanding criticism of the character, citing a 2000 report in which Black British comedians reportedly described Ali G as functioning as “an alibi for racism,” allowing audiences to laugh at Black street culture while maintaining a sense of distance from actual prejudice. Supporters of the boycott argue the character hasn’t aged well, with one critic writing online that “Black people don’t dress like that anymore.”

Reports briefly circulated that UK exhibitor Picturehouse Cinemas had agreed to boycott the film after the chain stated it had “no current plans” to screen it. However, that response has since been clarified as standard practice for unreleased titles rather than any formal decision to block the movie, and no cinema chains have actually confirmed plans to ban the film. The U.K. Cinema Association also pushed back on the broader idea that theaters should act as cultural gatekeepers, arguing that programming decisions should reflect what audiences actually want to see rather than outside pressure campaigns.

Cohen himself appeared to anticipate the backlash well before it fully materialized. Sharing the trailer earlier this month, 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,” a remark widely interpreted as a preemptive jab at exactly the kind of criticism now surrounding the film.

An Amazon MGM Studios release, ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ is scheduled to hit theaters Friday, October 23, giving audiences their own chance to weigh in on whether the character’s satire still lands more than two decades after his original run.

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