TEL AVIV – Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest alter-ego, Nobby, told Israeli comedian Guri Alfi that boycotting is “fantastic” as long as it’s against Jews.
Alfi was interviewing “Nobby” at the London premiere of his new movie Grimsby. When asked if he knew any Hebrew, Nobby answered him in fluent Hebrew, “How much does three grams of cocaine cost?”
When Alfi told Nobby that he’s from Israel, Nobby responded, “I’ve heard about your lot, bloody doing this and that, yeah.”
Alfi then asked if Nobby was taking part in Israel Apartheid Week currently taking place in London.
Nobby answered, “Apartheid! It sounds good, actually… Oh, boycotting, fantastic, yeh, as long as they’re Jews, it’s all right.”
Insisting he isn’t racist, Nobby added, “As long as you keep the Jews out.”
Watch a video of the interview here:
This isn’t the first time Baron Cohen has made anti-Semitic slurs while in character. His Borat alter-ego succeeded in getting a pub full of Arizonans to join him in a rendition of his now-famous song “Throw the Jew Down the Well.”
Aliases aside, Baron Cohen himself is staunchly pro-Israel. The Jewish-British comedian’s grandmother lives in Haifa. His wife, Australian actress Isla Fisher, who also has a supporting role in Grimsby, underwent an Orthodox conversion before marrying Baron Cohen.