Sacha Baron Cohen Sues Pharmacy for $ 9 Million Over Billboard Advertisement

Sacha Baron Cohen filed a lawsuit against Solar Therapeutics, based in Somerset, Massachusetts, arguing that the pharmacy was liable for copyright infringement and false advertising after using his picture on a billboard advertisement without his permission. Baron Cohen denies any involvement in Solar Therapeutics and does not smoke cannabis, although he frequently jokes on the subject. This time the English actor is not in the mood for laughter.

Solar Therapeutics put up a billboard on a busy Massachusetts freeway showing Baron Cohen as Borat with his thumb up and the words “It’s Nice!”, One of Borat’s buzzwords. It also read “Happy 4/20!” The billboard appeared in Somerset near Exit 10B. Baron Cohen was not amused.

The billboard appeared on April 19 and was taken down on April 27, just three days after Baron Cohen’s attorneys sent a cease and desist order to the pharmacy.

According to court documents filed on July 12, the actor alleges that Solar Therapeutics committed “willful copyright infringement, false advertising and breach of the Massachusetts Statute against the misappropriation of publicity rights” by using the likeness and image of Baron Cohen and his popular character Borat. used. The lawsuit seeks $ 9 million in damages.

“The reason Mr. Baron Cohen has never used cannabis is because he doesn’t think it’s a healthy choice. With his “Ali G” character portrayed by Mr. Baron Cohen on the HBO television series Da Ali G Show, Mr. Baron Cohen has spent much of his career mocking the “stoner” culture – a culture that the Billboard accused openly celebrates, ”the lawsuit reads.

It continues: “Furthermore, Mr. Baron Cohen was born into an Orthodox Jewish family; he is an observant Jew; and it is proud of its cultural heritage. He does not want to join the heated controversy in the Orthodox Jewish community over whether cannabis may be consumed according to Jewish traditions, customs and rules – a controversy in which many rabbinical leaders have stated that cannabis use is a violation of Jewish law. ”

The lawsuit also mentions a jury awarding $ 8.9 million to Michael Jordan who was involved in a food company for a magazine ad that used Jordan’s image without his permission and other cases, such as one with Kim Kardashian.

The lawsuit also states that the actor never promoted cannabis products in the UK or the US, fearing that doing so would “undermine his credibility as an actor and as a serious social activist.”

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Baron Cohen interviewed Dan Skye for High Times for the October 2003 cover of the magazine – but interviewed as Ali G, his fictional stoner character, not himself. The new lawsuit explains why Baron Cohen openly jokes about cannabis but does not use it because of his beliefs .

While the characters of the English actor Ali G, Borat and Brüno are wildly silly, he enjoyed an education in ivy and studied history with a focus on anti-Semitism in Cambridge.

Baron Cohen has two Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, three Golden Globe Awards, two wins for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his work in the feature film Borat and its sequel. In 2021 he received further nominations for his acclaimed portrayal of Abbie “Abbie” Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Baron Cohen is perhaps best known for blurring the lines between comedy and activism. In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, for example, his sketch put Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani in a compromising and possibly legally challenging position. The 76-year-old Giuliani is lying down, fiddling with his open shirt and reaching into his pants. An actress who plays Borat’s daughter poses as a TV journalist, only to have Borat say she is only 15 years old.

But this time Baron Cohen doesn’t laugh, and his serious side becomes more evident and intolerant of false and misleading advertisements that he believes could seriously damage his image.