Sacha Baron Cohen Responds To Oscar Ban As “The Dictator”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science have been in a tizzy the past few days over reports that actor (and Academy member) Sacha Baron Cohen would be arriving to the Oscar red carpet on Sunday in full costume as General Aladeen, his freedom hating character coming to theaters May 11th in The Dictator.  The Academy is adamantly opposed to using the award show as a publicity stunt to promote upcoming films and some have reported that the Academy has gone so far as to revoke Cohen’s tickets.  The actor was planning to attend the awards as part of the cast of Hugo, the film with the most nominations this year.  The Academy has said it will allow Cohen to attend the ceremony as long as there are assurances that he will not use the event as a platform to promote his upcoming film.  This morning, Cohen has responded to the Academy’s ban on the film’s website as “The Dictator”.

Update: Sacha Baron Cohen took to the Today show this morning via phone as his The Dictator character to discuss his Oscar ban.  Check out the video below: