The studio has also released a statement.
Well, the first episode of Who Is America? was certainly interesting.
After introducing us to three of his new characters, there’s no denying which segment made the biggest impression as Sacha Baron Cohen managed to chill audiences to the bone during a discussion about the need to get firearms into the hands of kids at kindergarten.
While pretending to be an Israeli anti-terrorism advocate, Cohen managed to convinced gun advocate Philip Van Cleave to film a children’s infomercial about arming toddlers. The sight of him teaching them children how to load “toddler-friendly” guns was absolutely haunting.
Aside fromVan Cleave, the following people all participated in the segment; Larry Pratt (Gun Owners of America founder), Trent Lott (former Senate Majority Leader), Dana Rohrabacher (Republican congressman from California), Joe Wilson (Republican congressman from South Carolina), Joe Walsh (talk show host and former Republican congressman from Illinois), and Matt Gaetz (Republican congressman from Florida)
In an interview with CNN, Joe Walsh — now a conservative radio host – tried to explain his comments and how he was involved in the show.
“After they conducted an interview, they had me read off of a teleprompter talking about some of the innovative products that Israel invented. Then they had me read about this 4-year-old child in Israel who, when a terrorist entered his classroom, somehow he grabbed the terrorist’s gun and held the terrorist at bay. And that was an example of how Israel trains and arms preschool kids on how to use firearms, and boy shouldn’t we do that in America?” Walsh said on CNN.
Walsh read the following from a script written by Cohen: “The intensive, three-week Kinderguardian course introduces specially selected children from 12 to 4 years old to pistols, rifles, semiautomatics and a rudimentary knowledge of mortars. In less than a month — less than a month — a first-grader can become a first-grenade-er. Happy shooting, kids.”
He explained himself on Twitter too and since the show was aired, Showtime have released a statement which has slammed any accusations and criticisms that were made against the producers and Baron Cohen.
I was reading about what Israel does. This was after being flown out to DC to get a friend of Israel award, a 45 min made up interview about my support for Israel. Wedged in there was this sliver about kids and guns. And no, I don't believe we should train & arm kindergarteners.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 15, 2018
Here’s what the statement from Showtime said:
“There has been widespread misinformation over the past week about the character of Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D., performed by Sacha Baron Cohen on the Showtime comedy series Who Is America?”
“Baron Cohen did not present himself as a disabled veteran, and viewers nationwide who watched the premiere on Sunday can now attest to that. In Sunday’s episode, during an interview with Senator Bernie Sanders, Baron Cohen in character as Dr. Ruddick was asked by the Senator if he is disabled, and he stated that he is not and uses a mobility scooter to conserve his energy. In addition, Baron Cohen never presented himself as a veteran of the U.S. military to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during the booking process or during the filming of her interview, and contrary to her claims he did not appear in a wheelchair. In both the interview with Governor Palin and the interview with Senator Sanders, he did not wear military apparel of any kind.”
Here’s a clip of Cohen’s character talking with Senator Bernie Sanders.
Clip via – SHOWTIME
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