Conservative Radio Host Joe Walsh Says He Was ‘Duped’ by Sacha Baron Cohen
By Ellis Clopton
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Sacha Baron Cohen is already generating some controversy with his upcoming Showtime interview series “Who Is America?” with conservative radio host and one-term congressman Joe Walsh saying Cohen tricked him into an interview.
Walsh took to Twitter to defend former Alaska governor Sarah Palin after she claimed she had been “duped” into an interview with Cohen where he disguised himself as a disabled veteran in a wheelchair, tweeting he had also been similarly duped.
“I totally believe @SarahPalinUSA’s account of the @SachaBaronCohen incident,” he wrote. “Dressing up as a wounded veteran is absolutely stolen valor, his tactics are disguisting – I know cause I too was duped.”
“Side note to my story – I totally get @SachaBaronCohen’s gig. He’s a comedian, and he can be funny, but mocking a disabled veteran to spoof @SarahPalinUSA is a serious matter. I am just telling you what I encountered – it was much of the same she experienced,” Walsh went on.
Walsh proceeded to recount being invited to a pro-Israel dinner and being asked to do an interview that would air as part of a celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary. He described being rushed into a studio where “production was a mess” and was interviewed about Israeli defense and other topics before the inteviewer asked him how children should protect themselves against terrorist attacks.
He accompanied the tweet with a picture of the interview.
Walsh said he was rushed out of the studio and was presented with an award from Showtime for “significant contributions to Israel.”
While details on “Who is America?” are sparse, Cohen has spent the beginning of the month dripping small promotional bits on his Twitter account, most notably dropping a short trailer on his Twitter account featuring former Vice President Dick Cheney signing an empty water jug, which Cohen called his “waterboard kit.”
“Who is America?” premieres on Sunday, July 15 on Showtime.
