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Come back Sacha, all is forgiven
After being nearly blackballed from Sunday’s Oscar ceremony for wanting to appear on the red carpet in costume, controversial comic Sacha Baron Cohen has been invited back.
Triumphant! Sacha Baron Cohen, as his latest creation Admiral General Aladeen, has been allowed to the Oscar ceremony after all.
Baron Cohen, who is known to court controversy at every turn - being the creator of Ali G, Borat and Bruno - initially stoked the ire of the Academy when he 'threatened' to appear in full Middle Eastern despot regalia on the red carpet of the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles this Sunday - where the Oscars will be taking place.
On hearing the news that he will effectively be promoting his latest satirical farce - The Dictator - on the red carpet, the Academy threatened to withdraw his tickets... but then allowed the star back to the ceremony after a mock-protest from Baron Cohen himself.
Appearing on the popular American daytime programme The Today Show, Baron Cohen, dressed in character as 'Admiral General Aladeen' and addressing "the United Satan of America", chastised the "Academy for Motion Pictures, Arts and Zionists" for their "outrageous" ban, and threatened "unimaginable consequences" if his tickets weren't returned by noon on Sunday.
Well... it looks like the Academy took the satirical clip a bit more seriously than they were expected to.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Oscar producer Brian Grazer said that Cohen has not only been invited back, but that he'll be allowed to appear in character.
"We absolutely respect him as an artist and he's allowed to come," Grazer said.
In response, an ecstatic General Aladeen tweeted: 'VICTORY IS OURS!'... 'TODAY OSCAR, TOMORROW OBAMA!'
