Alex Becker
Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen has officially defeated former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore in a legal battle over an incident that occurred back in 2018. Moore, who lost the Alabama Senate race in 2020, is known for his blatant opposition to gay marriage and several accusations of sexual misconduct. Though several women reported Moore sexually assulated them as teenagers, he never faced any legal backlash. Thus, Cohen felt he should take matters into his own hands.
Back in 2018, Moore appeared on Cohen’s satirical TV show Who is America? Moore agreed to take part in the show after being told he was receiving an award for supporting Israel, even signing a disclosure agreement allowing it to air on television.
However, what actually happened is very different.
Cohen dressed up as a character named Erran Morad, in an attempt to discuss Irsaeli technological advancements. He soon pulled out a device that looked like a handheld metal detector and explained Israel had recently invented a “pedophile detector” which he went on to wave around Moore.
“It turns out sex offenders and particularly pedophiles secrete an enzyme 4D DHT, which is actually detectable,” Cohen said to Moore during the segment. Cohen then used the fictional tool on Moore, which resulted in excessive beeping.
Moore quickly realized the put-on that had been setup and stormed off almost immediately. He then argued that the disclosure agreement he had signed was no longer valid as it had been under false pretenses.
The show aired the segment regardless, leading to a $95 million defamation lawsuit against Cohen in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case was dismissed causing Moore to bring the case to the Manhattan Court of Appeals, where the judges ruled in agreement with the lower court.
The court cited the pedophile detector as “obviously farcical” and “clearly comedy,” claiming that “no reasonable person could believe it to be an actual, functioning piece of technology.”
While Moore has already said he plans to appeal a second time, it seems that for Cohen this case has been yet another “great success!”
