Even if you haven't sat down to watch the new Borat movie yet, surely you've heard about one already infamous scene.
But Rudy Giuliani isn't the only notable figure to end up in Sacha Baron Cohen's crosshairs. A name mostly familiar in this part of the country ends up making a cameo as well: Joey Gibson, founder of Vancouver, Wash.-based right-wing protest group Patriot Prayer.
Gibson is well-known in Portland for repeatedly holding rallies intended to provoke Portland anti-fascists into brawls. This year, he's concentrated much of his energy on opposing social-distancing orders in Washington state—which is where Baron Cohen trolled the troll.
Without spoiling too much, the moment occurs when Baron Cohen—doubly disguised as bumbling reporter Borat Sagdiyev and a character named "Country Steve"— goes undercover at a "reopen Washington" rally against COVID-19 lockdowns outside the state capitol in Olympia.
Gibson is not seen, but his cadences—best described as "professional wrestling announcer who recently joined Campus Crusade for Christ"—were distinctive enough that many of his longtime adversaries identified him on social media hours after the movie debuted Friday on Amazon Prime.
"We gotta get up and fight for this beautiful country, the United States of America," Gibson says as Borat wanders through the crowd in a disguise. "I don't see very many masks out there. That makes you, that makes you instant criminals right now. They want to throw you in jail for what you're doing right here, right now. Do you understand that? They're relying that you guys continue to shut up and sit in your house like good little subjects. We will not comply."
"Will not comply!" shouts a man in the crowd.
"Now you're talking," Gibson replies. "We gotta get up and fight, guys. God bless each and every single one of you."
Then Baron Cohen, in the guise of "Country Steve," gets onstage, wearing overalls, a fake nose and a string of onions around his neck (don't ask). He leads the rally in a singsong of an original composition with the chorus, "Dr. Fauci, what we gonna do? Inject him with the Wuhan flu."
The incident was noted by the media when it initially happened back in June. At the time, it was assumed Cohen was filming a segment for the new season of his Showtime show, Who Is America?.
If you're planning to watch the movie this weekend, watch for the moment—or rather, listen for it—around the one hour and eight minute mark.
Related: One of Sacha Baron Cohen's New Characters Is a Reed College Professor and "Self-Hating White Male."