A man portrayed as an angry terrorist in the shockumentary Bruno is suing filmmaker Sacha Baron Cohen, David Letterman, and NBC. Ayman Abu Aita runs a supermarket in Bethlehem and says he’s a Christian guy with a wife and two kids and isn’t a terrorist at all. He’s a Palestinian peace activist who responded to a request for an interview with what he was told was a German documentary filmmaker. Instead, he met with gay caricature Bruno and became an unwilling subject in what he considers an offensive movie. He was portrayed as the leader of a terrorist group and his reputation in his community suffered. They even used his real full name in the movie:

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, the actor behind the flamboyant character Bruno, is being sued for $114 million in libel damages, reports the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

Ayman Abu Aita, a Palestinian grocer and peace activist, says that the box office hit, “Bruno,” has ruined his life. In the film, Abu Aita travels with Bruno, a gay fashion journalist, to the Ein El-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon to meet with a leader there. A caption that appears during the scene describes Abu Aita as a “Terrorist group leader, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.”

Since the film’s release, Abu Aita says he has received death threats and that he was originally tricked into meeting Baron Cohen in the first place. He claims he thought Baron Cohen was a German producing a film about Palestinians — not an actor making a comedy, reports Britain’s Daily Mail.

Abu Aita alleges that when Baron Cohen spoke with David Letterman on TV last year, he said he had found a “real terrorist” through a contact at the CIA.

He is suing NBC Universal, Letterman and Baron Cohen. “Bruno” has grossed about $137 million worldwide since it’s release in July.

[From The NY Daily News]

The thing that bothers me is that in an appearance on Letterman (link leads to video) Baron Cohen told the story about finding a “real” terrorist to interview as if the whole thing went down just as it looked on film. He said that he used CIA contacts to find a member of the “Al-Axa Martyrs Brigade, the number one suicide bombers out there,” that he had to agree to meet the guy at an undisclosed location, and that the situation was so dangerous he had trouble securing a willing bodyguard. If this guy’s story is to be believed, Baron Cohen just found an average guy with ties to Palestinian rights groups, met him at a public restaurant, and then duped him into appearing in the film.

In an interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, Larry Charles, the director of Bruno and Borat, explained their approach. “A lot of this comedy is about putting people, hopefully who are good targets, in uncomfortable situations.” Not all of the people are good targets and many eventually fight back. This is the second lawsuit against Bruno. The first was by a woman who claims she was left permanently disabled after a scuffle with Bruno filmmakers at a Palmdale, CA bingo game. Baron’s earlier film Borat was the subject of at least seven lawsuits from the people who appeared in the film.

It’s unlikely that Baron Cohen will get the chance to offend more people in character. He told NPR that he’s too well recognized now and that it’s too dangerous for him. “Basically its impossible to do now. Its too well known as a genre, and its just too hard to get people not to recognize me. And also I think I was lucky as a performer in Borat and Bruno that I didnt get permanently hurt.” It’s not just Baron Cohen who can get hurt by his performances.

An Interview with Ayman Abu Aita is below. Here’s a link to a press conference announcing this lawsuit.

Sacha Baron Cohen is shown outside the Late Show as Bruno on 7/9/09. He appeared on the show as himself, not as one of his alter egos. Credit: WENN.com

Yesterday we heard that a supposed “terrorist” briefly interviewed in the new Bruno film wasn’t a terrorist at all and claims he was misled into thinking that he would be interviewed by a German filmmaker trying to shed light on the situation in Palestine. (Documentaries and educational films are very popular on German television and this undoubtedly seemed like a legitimate request.) When Cohen brought up Osama Bin Laden, the “terrorist”/Palestinian rights organizer got offended and told him to leave. Now that the film is out, the guy is very upset and says that his image was misused and that he may sue.

Not only is the guy featured in the movie offended, the terrorist organization that Cohen incorrectly claimed he belonged to, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, has issued a pretty scary statement saying that the film was a conspiracy against them and that “We reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man.” Uh-oh:

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the terrorist group depicted in the film “Bruno,” is “very upset” their group’s namesake and former member was featured in a film about a homosexual character that includes graphic depictions of homosexual sex.

The group, as well as individual members, released a statement to WND that includes a veiled threat against the movie’s star, Sacha Baron Cohen:

“We reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man (Cohen)” said the statement.

“This movie was part of a conspiracy against the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades,” continued the statement, released through a senior member of the group in the West Bank.

“According to what we checked there was no meeting about the real context of the film. This was a dirty use of our brother, Aiman, and we don’t accept that the name of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is part of the film.”

Aiman is a reference to Ayman Abu Aita, who was interviewed in the movie “Bruno” and labeled as a “terrorist leader” from the Brigades division in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Aita told WND yesterday the movie mislabels him and that Cohen conducted the interview under false pretenses. Aita said he is pursuing legal action against Cohen.

The Brigades statement claimed that “Aiman is part of the political level of Fatah in Bethlehem, part of the leadership of the political apparatus of Fatah. He is not a member of the Brigades.”

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is the declared military wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ U.S.-backed Fatah party. The Brigades is responsible for scores of suicide bombings, shootings and deadly rocket attacks against Israeli civilian population centers.

Several Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leaders responded to the use of their group in the “Bruno” movie.

Abu Philistine, the current leader of the Brigades in Aita’s hometown of Bethlehem, told WND, “This was a trick against Aiman. We don’t want to be part of this movie”

Jihad Jaara, the infamous exiled chief of the Brigades in Bethlehem, called Cohen “not funny” and said his film was “stupid.”

“I’d like to tell Cohen if you like to be funny you are not. You showed the world how stupid is this film,” Jaara told WND. “We don’t need for Cohen to show us to the world in a homosexual film. That made us very angry at him.”

Continued Jaara: “If he wants to make a real film, then come to the Palestinian territories and see how children are dying every day at the hands of the Israeli occupation.

“I heard about this film and I felt very shamed when I heard about it,” added Jaara.

Jaara was the notorious director of the 2002 siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity who served as the Bethlehem-area chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist organization during that time.

Many senior Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leaders were granted amnesty by Israel in 2007 in an American-brokered gesture to bolster Abbas. The group, therefore, could not release an official pamphlet against the movie since the Brigades has not been releasing pamphlets. Also, some Brigades leaders warned that Abbas’ Fatah party may try to distance itself publicly from the statements against Cohen.

[From WND.com]

I saw Bruno this weekend, and I can’t remember if Cohen specifically mentioned that group in the film. He did bring up their name in an interview on Letterman last week though, and it’s pretty likely he claimed that the guy he interviewed was in the group, especially considering how seriously they’re responding. You don’t want to piss off a group of suicide bombers! The film could have been just as funny without that scene, and they probably should have cut it. It must have been a huge expense to go to the Middle East and they didn’t have much else to fill out that part of the story, though.

The film was really raunchy, and included several scenes of jaw-dropping, offensively portrayed gay sex along with real straight sex (with bars to block the naughty bits, but it was clear what was going on) and full frontal male nudity. Just about anyone could conceivably be upset to be associated with that film. It’s also not for kids or teens at all. Universal wants to make sure they maximize ticket sales and have cut three scenes to a offer a new teen-friendly UK version of Bruno in order to score a “15″ rating. The original film has an adults-only “18″ rating. There are at least four scenes that I can remember that should really be cut to sanitize it, but many people would argue that no version of the film is appropriate for under-18. It’s obnoxious through and through, and that’s why it’s so successful.

Cohen is shown at the LA premiere of Bruno on 6/25/09. Credit: PRPhotos

I saw Bruno this weekend, and while I thought it was pretty damn funny, it wasn’t “pee your pants/can’t stop crying” funny. It was totally offensive on many different levels, but you kind of expected that. The thing that impressed my husband and me the most was the fact that Cohen never broke character and was willing to go as graphically, obnoxiously far as he did in so many instances with so many hapless victims. Some of the people’s reactions were really priceless, especially a focus group hired to screen the faux pilot for Bruno’s American talkshow. I won’t give away too much of the non-plot, but there were moments when you were cringing and hoping that Cohen would escape with his faux sneer intact.

One of those moments wasn’t when Bruno was interviewing a supposedly bonafide terrorist. The guy just told him to get out when he insulted Osama, and the Osama crack had me laughing pretty hard. Cohen said that he wanted to get kidnapped to be famous and that “your king Osama” looks like “a dirty wizard or a homeless Santa.” It was surely a dangerous situation, but it didn’t seem as scary as the other segments because the guys weren’t having any of Bruno’s bullsh*t and kicked him out right away.

In an appearance on The Late Show last week, Cohen (not in character) told Letterman that he went to great pains to find a real terrorist, and that he used CIA contacts to find a member of the “Al-Axa Martyrs Brigade, the number one suicide bombers out there.” Cohen said he had to agrees to meet the guy at an undisclosed location. The situation was so dangerous, he claimed, that it took him a long time to find security and he had to settle for one guy who used to work with Enrique Iglesias to serve as his bodyguard.

The “terrorist” interviewed for the film is predictably appalled, and said he thought he was being interviewed to speak about the cause of Palestinian rights. He’s not a terrorist and is an active legitimate political leader. He was involved in terrorist-type pro-Palestinian activities at one point, but that ended five years ago and he’s since cooperated with the Israeli authorities and leads a peaceful life. The guy says he didn’t have a bodyguard with him, and he didn’t have guns. They met at a restaurant for the interview, not an undisclosed location. He’s considering suing and said that he was mislead into believing the film was being made about Palestine.

Aita is a representative of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party to the West Bank town of Beit Sahor, which is a satellite of Bethlehem. Aita also is a board member of the Holy Land Trust, a nongovernmental organization promoting Palestinian rights and commitment to nonviolence.

Aita served in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades from 2000 until 2003, after which he did a two year stint in Israeli prison on accusations he was involved in shootings against Israeli soldiers operating in Bethlehem. Still, according to Israeli security sources speaking to WND, Aita, while a member of the Brigades, once worked with Jewish state officials to return two Israeli reserve soldiers who had gotten lost in Bethlehem.

Baron Cohen, meanwhile, has pumped up his sit down with a “real terrorist” to promote his new movie.

In an interview with Letterman last week, Baron Cohen described meeting Aita and Aita’s “bodyguard” at an undisclosed location in the West Bank.

“I thought I needed security,” Baron Cohen told Letterman. “It was in the West Bank. The guy picks this secret location. … The terrorist comes in with his bodyguard.”

“I was pretty sure that my terrorist either did or did not have a gun on him,” said Baron Cohen.

Aita, however, says the interview took place at a private section of a popular restaurant called Everest in the town of Beit Jala, which is in a section in the West Bank under Israeli control.

Aita said he does not carry any weapons and Palestinians are not allowed to bring weapons into Beit Jala. Indeed, during multiple in-person interviews with WND, Aita was unarmed.

Aita also said he does not have a bodyguard. The second individual who showed up with him for the interview with Baron Cohen, he said, was Sammy Awad, the American manager of the Holy Land Trust.

Asked if he thought anything was unusual about the way Baron Cohen acted or dressed during the interview, Aita replied, “No. He behaved very normally.”

“There was nothing special,” continued Aita. “He said he is a German actor making documentaries watched by young people. … He wanted to make a story to mobilize the young people to help us (Palestinians). … I didn’t have any impression he would use my interview in a bad way.”

Aita slammed Baron Cohen as a “big liar.”

He said he is in the process of securing a lawyer to pursue possible legal action, claiming the film “made me big damages.”

Baron Cohen’s publicist, Matthew Labov, told WND the comedian has no comment on the report. A spokesperson for Universal Pictures, which released the movie, said the studio also had no comment.

[From WND via Huffington Post]

So far, the film has only been sued once – by a woman who suffered an injury at a bingo game where Bruno shocked all the old people with his foul language and antics, making the poor bingo lady go in the back and cry hysterically, hitting her head on a concrete slab. She said she suffered from a bleeding brain and ended up in a wheelchair. That scene was cut from the film.

Borat, the 2006 film featuring Cohen as a Kazakh reporter, was sued seven times by various unwilling participants.

There were plenty of people in Bruno, especially in one of the seminal final scenes which featured women covering their mouths in disbelief and guys throwing chairs and drinks. Expect to see a handful of more lawsuits now that the film is out. I would guess that the agreement they have the guests sign is pretty solid, although there has got to be a judge somewhere who is willing to challenge it.

Cohen is shown outside The Late Show on Thursday, where he read the Top Ten List as Bruno

Sacha Baron Cohen was on The Late Show on Tuesday promoting his film Bruno, but he wasn’t in character and just told some stories about working on the films Borat and Bruno. He’s almost as entertaining when he’s himself and you can tell what a clever, funny guy he is.

Today Cohen was on “The Today Show” for an interview with Matt Lauer, but he went as the flamboyant faux-Austrian TV host Bruno and Lauer completely played along with it. In fact Lauer asked him questions relating to his character as if some of the plot lines from the movie (not the stunts in particular) really happened to him. It was pretty much genius on Lauer’s part. He deserves a lot of credit for keeping a completely straight face and not busting out laughing, especially because you could hear people in the studio laughing hysterically through the interview. Lauer laughed at times but then completely pulled it together and kept plugging away with the questions and making it seem like a real interview. He is a consummate professional.

Lauer: It also ruined your career in Europe. [The Fashion show stunt] You lost your job hosting a fashion television show. You were blacklisted from basically every fashion event in Europe. Is that what made you come to the United States?

Bruno: You know, Ich vanted to come here and become like an internationally respected figure, like Heidi Montag from da Hills.

Lauer: And to seek uber fame…

Bruno: Ich vanted to become the most famous celebrity from Austria since Hitler.

What has the reaction been in this country as compared to how people in your home country of Austria tend to reactto you.

Bruno: They treat gay Austrians really well here. In California, they made one of them governor.

Lauer [laughs, but then pulls it together quickly]

[On Bruno's trip to the Middle East] You seem to be confused about some very basic things. For example, in speaking to an Israeli and Palestinian… you confused Hamas with hummus.

Bruno: yeah, they’re basically the same thing.

Lauer: Do you know they’re not the same thing? Are you a little clearer on that issue now?

Bruno: The situation there is like really complex. The Palestinians have got their enemies, the Israelis, but I’ve got my enemies too. My enemies is carbohydrates. I’ve had to declare jihad on Haagen Dazs.

But the real problem there is fashion, right? I mean if I opened my vardrobe and all I saw was like a black burka and some sandals I’d blow myself up too.

[Lauer starts laughing, quickly gets straight-faced again]

[Roughly transcribed from Bruno's appearance on The Today Show, 7/8/09, video above]

Matt brought up the statement from GLAAD which expresses concern that Bruno will make things worse for the gay community. Bruno asked “Why all this backbiting from my community? I never saw the astronaut community getting upset about Buzz Lightyear. The great thinkers have always been persecuted. Plato, Aristotle, Shakira.”

Lauer also mentioned that the Austrian minister to England is calling for a boycott of the film Bruno, and Bruno started faux crying, said it was the first he’d heard of it, and asked Matt for a hug.

This interview was just so funny and I’m really geared up to see Bruno this weekend. It’s out in many countries by tomorrow, July 10.

Here’s Sacha Baron Cohen outside the Late Show on 7/7/09. He did a photo op in character but was himself for the interview with Letterman. Credit: WENN.com

So, here’s what happened: Sacha Baron Cohen “fell” on Eminem in what was basically the 69 position. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Sacha Baron Cohen wasn’t wearing big, fluffy angel wings, a jock strap, no pants and bearing down on the stage from a wire, through the air. Sacha was acting as his latest alter-ego, Bruno, complete with a fake Austrian-ish accent. The way the wire stopped short, the way “Bruno” stayed in character, it makes me believe that Sacha knew what he was doing. Here’s the thing – I don’t think Eminem knew what Bruno was doing, and that’s what made what happened outrageous.

All I know is that for what felt like an eternity, Sacha Baron Cohen’s bare ass was in Eminem’s face (with Eminem saying over and over “You can‘t be serious“), and Eminem’s bodyguards freaked out and started beating the crap out of Sacha, who was still dangling from the wire. After that, it seemed like Eminem and his bodyguards walked out of the show. This was confirmed by Ryan Seacrest in real time, via Twitter, where Ryan tweeted, “If u saw the fight at mtv movie awards betwen eminem and “bruno” I am told it was real and em’s crew left the show”

The LA Times has some good analysis about whether the incident was faked:

It probably wasn’t the comeback Eminem wanted. His appearance at the MTV Movie Awards this year will be a hard one to top. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with his music.

Two hours of live product placement, the MTV Movie Awards don’t come back with much in the way of live music. There were two performances tonight – Eminmen and Kings of Leon. For Eminem, this represented his first major appearance since the release of his No. 1 album, “Relapse.”

He brought an award-show staple – a medley of recent singles “We Made You” and “Crack a Bottle.” But Eminem’s best performance came a few minutes later in the stands, when Sacha Baron Cohen’s flamboyantly gay character Bruno descended from the rafters in angel wings and landed, butt-first, in Eminem’s face.

Punches were thrown, curse words were lip-read and Eminem stormed out with a scowl. Credit MTV for having a little fun with the often humorless rapper, who’s long been a source of controversy for what many have deemed homophobic lyrics. In fact, the episode gave MTV what many of its recent award galas have lacked – a moment that felt a little daring.

Was it staged? Eminem is a master pitchmen, and he’s used his homophobic tag to move records before (see the Grammys’ 2001 performance with Elton John). But if it was planned, Emimen should have stuck around and had more fun with the moment. After all, storming out was the obvious move, and what we’d expect from Em (as is much of “Relapse”).

But if it wasn’t staged, score one for Cohen, who showed that the rapper, who hadn’t released an album of new material since 2004’s “Encore,” hasn’t grown up in the slightest.

[From The LA Times]

I’m siding with Seacrest. I don’t think this stuff was staged, at least not from Eminem’s perspective. There’s no way that MTV could have gotten “Bruno” to land so perfectly into Eminem’s lap if the crew hadn’t practiced that drop before. And yet, Eminem looked truly freaked out that Sacha’s ass was in his face, and those bodyguards looked like they were really trying to beat the crap out of Sacha. As cameras caught Eminem walking out of the auditorium, he looked visibly pissed off and outraged. Of course, it probably didn’t help that MTV pushed a bunch of cameras into Eminem’s face. So I think “Bruno” planned this stunt, with some help from MTV, but Eminem was caught off-guard. Too funny.

Update Thanks to commenter Are you F* for letting us know that those are members of Eminem’s band, D12, sitting next to him and are not his bodyguards.