Sacha Baron Cohen made a surprise appearance at Wimbledon during the lengthy, sweltering men's final match on Sunday, dressed as his iconic comedy character Ali G. He wore a full marijuana-themed shellsuit and a hat that read 'Ali Gear'. The 54-year-old comedian had attended the Grand Slam the previous day as his usual self in a suit, but returned as his infamous culturally appropriating persona.
Ali G's Centre Court Commentary
Cohen posted a video to Instagram as Ali G, speaking from the seats at Centre Court. In the caption, he described Jannik Sinner's victory over Alexander Zverev as 'boring'. Speaking to camera with at least one smirking Wimbledon attendee behind him, Cohen as Ali G said: 'I is here at the men's singles in Wimbledon. It's like the World Cup of something called tennis, which is like a crap version of ping pong.'
'They say tennis is better played on grass, which is why I intend to sell as much of it while I is here,' he added, before jokingly plugging a variety of recreational drugs he claimed he would be selling at the tournament. Wimbledon viewers tuning in at home had spotted the maybe-Ali G in the stands but most assumed it wasn't Cohen himself.
New Ali G Film in the Works
The post was made to an Instagram account for Cohen's alter ego, which so far has only uploaded another snap plugging DVDs of the Da Ali G Show. It comes after reports that Cohen has completed filming on a new Ali G film, a follow-up to his 2002 cult hit Ali G Indahouse. The film reportedly wrapped production in the UK – where he had been spotted as Ali G – and the US, but no title or release date has been confirmed, according to a report in The InSneider.
Cohen made his name playing the foul-mouthed Staines massive wannabe, first appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock programme. The British comedian has popped up as Ali G in recent years, shocking a comedy club audience in Sydney in 2021 when he appeared on stage in character and performed a stand-up set. Cohen's more recent credits include the gender-swap satire Ladies First, which performed well on Netflix's ranking of top films but was universally panned by critics when it dropped this May.
