Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G is back after more than two decades, and so is the controversy surrounding the character.
The comedian’s upcoming Ali G: Who Iz I? has ignited an email campaign urging cinemas worldwide to ban the Amazon MGM Studios film over allegations that the character promotes outdated and racist stereotypes about Black people, Jamaicans and Muslims.
The campaign, organized by watchdog group NewsCord, had reached over 45,000 complaints on Monday afternoon. Organizers are asking major theater chains in the U.S., U.K. and other countries to leave the movie off their schedules.
According to Deadline, Picturehouse Cinemas in the U.K. responded by saying they are “not planning to screen the film.”
The backlash grew after the recent release of the film’s trailer, which shows Cohen back in character wearing Ali G’s signature tracksuit, fake dreadlocks and a Rastafarian-style hat.
Twenty years after the first Ali G movie, Cohen is making his directorial debut and bringing the character back for a new mockumentary. In the film, the character learns his longtime girlfriend is eight months pregnant and heads to America in an attempt to revive his career.
But not everyone sees Ali G as a racist character. One X user argued that the entire point of Ali G was to mock white people who imitate Jamaican and Black culture, writing that the character “was making fun of white kids who pretended to be Jamaican.”
“Isn’t the whole point of Ali G though that he was making fun of white kids who pretended to be Jamaican, he’s not mocking Jamaicans, it’s not funny and I don’t care for the movie but I feel like Ali G isn’t racist it’s just stupid social commentary from a bygone age the 90s,” the user wrote.
Another user pushed back, describing the character as an “outdated racist trope.”
A third argued that, regardless of Cohen’s intentions, Black culture is ultimately what is being parodied.
“Ali G, for decades, has been a racist caricature of Black Jamaican, British, and American culture through the voice of a white comedian from England. Are you just noticing this now?” the person posted.
Cohen first introduced Ali G in 1998 on Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show in the U.K. He later took the character to Da Ali G Show and the 2002 movie Ali G Indahouse.
The 2002 comedy Ali G Indahouse made about $23 million worldwide on a $5 million budget, with most of its success coming from theaters in Britain.
Even then, the character faced controversy. A 2000 article in The Guardian documented accusations from Black British comedians that Ali G mocked Black people and relied on stereotypical language.
Ali G is not Cohen’s only controversial character. He has also brought Borat, Bruno, and Admiral General Aladeen from The Dictator to the screen.
Ali G: Who Iz I? is scheduled to hit theaters Friday, Oct. 23, 2026.
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