‘Borat’ Kidnapping Staged, Led To Pamela Anderson Marriage Breakup, Says Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan apparently was not so good for Pamela Anderson.

Baron Cohen, out talking in advance of Emmy nominations to drum up support for his Showtime series Who Is America?, finally acknowledged that Anderson’s appearance in the last part of the film was cleared with her, or “else it would be kidnapping.”

In the scene, Baron Cohen (playing Anderson-obsessed Borat) approaches Anderson at a book signing. He hopes to put her in a “traditional marriage sack” and take her back to Kazakhstan. Things go bad.

“We did that scene twice, actually,” Baron Cohen said to The Daily Beast. “The first time we did it at a book signing and I grabbed her over my shoulder and ran out with her and no one did anything. I was like, what kind of fans are these?”

The second take drew more of a reaction, but Anderson was accidentally injured in the ensuing struggle, losing a bit of bone in her jaw as a result of fans trying to stop “Borat” from kidnapping her.

Unfortunately, Anderson lost more than the bone. When her then-husband, Kid Rock, saw the film, he flew into a rage. He was said to be particularly miffed at the book signing staged abduction.

Baron Cohen said that when he asked Anderson what her husband thought of the film, “She texted back, ‘He’s getting divorced.’ ”

“I was like, ‘why?’ And she goes, ‘The movie.’ And I thought it was a joke.”