Bruno's Prank: Arkansas Cage Fights Turn Gay, Crowd Goes Crazy

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Crowds in Arkansas came for the lure of cage fighting and $1 beer, but police say what they got instead was men ripping each others' clothes off and kissing _ a stunt suspected of being orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen of "Borat" fame.

"We had a contract for cage fighting. We were deceived," said Dwight Duncan, president and CEO of Four States Fair Grounds in Texarkana, where the first of two Arkansas fights raised suspicions last month.

Matt Labov, a Los Angeles-based publicist for Baron Cohen, said he had no comment Monday about the faked fights. One of Baron Cohen's movies is due out next year.

The day after the June 5 Texarkana bout, Fort Smith's convention center hosted "Blue Collar Brawlin.'" Fort Smith police Sgt. Adam Holland said organizers told him a character named "Straight Dave" would goad a planted audience member into the ring for a fight.

The two men would then wrestle, rip away some of their clothes and share a brief kiss reminiscent of one between Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell in the film "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."

Producers said "there would be a romantic embrace," Holland said. "They said it was kind of to essentially make fun, poke fun at wrestling _ two guys rolling around on the floor, all sweaty."

An elaborate array of mounted and handheld video cameras caught the crowd of 1,600's reaction as the two men "went right up to the line" of the city's morality laws, Holland said. The two men stripped down to their underwear, kissed and rubbed on each other, the sergeant said.

The audience, as well as local fighters drawn to take part in the show, became enraged. "It set the crowd off lobbing beers," Holland said. "They had beers in plastic cups. Those things can get some distance on them actually."

Holland said it took officers about 45 minutes to clear the convention center, as the two actors sprinted away through a specially set-aside tunnel.

Those in attendance were told by several signs on display that they'd be filmed, Holland said, and signed waivers before the event. Convention center sales director Karin Hobbs declined to name the event's sponsor Monday.

Baron Cohen became a national celebrity after his 2006 hit movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," in which he played a bumbling reporter from the Central Asia nation.

News of the faked cage fights comes as Baron Cohen is in production of a movie titled "Bruno," named after the gay Austrian fashion reporter he developed for "Da Ali G Show." Baron Cohen, in the guise of Bruno, often interviewed hapless subjects in the South.

If the cage match visits came from Baron Cohen, it wouldn't be the first time Arkansas fell for a practical joke. In 2000, then-Gov. Mike Huckabee fell for a prank and congratulated Canada for preserving its icebound Parliament, calling it a "national igloo."

Comments

[You]

And to Oscar tonight for Best Line goes to Holland, who said, "They had beers in plastic cups. Those things can get some distance on them actually."

[Mujokan]

I too loved that "actually".

Yes, yes, now that you mention it, I can see how that might be the case. Makes you think, really.

[sparkandy]

Actually, makes me want to try lobbing one some time.

[jgalvan]

Flawless

[MagisterLudi]

"What is your biggest gun..? Do you need to use lubrication with that gun? How far can you put that up the poopenschafte before its dangerous?"

Bruno.

[Helzapoppin]

Beautiful!

[katocat]

Sacha Baron Cohen is hilarious.

[naijaman]

Some of those "enraged" fans were turned on....they need to stop lying to themselves and "man up"!

[nyckingpin]

Borat was a very funny movie. I'll be keeping an eye out for Bruno as well, he's not the funniest character Sacha Baron Cohen plays, but the guy is very good at his shtick.

[AnnArky]

Isn't there a law in Arkansas that says you can only marry your cousins if they're from Alabama or Tennessee?

[mawrm]

now now.... don't drag Alabama or Tennessee into this... This is Arkansas we're talking about and there's a world of difference between it and 'Bama and Tenn.

[kburlz]

Yeah, and it's probably Oklahoma anyway.

[BigBagel]

To bad for Bill Clinton there wasn't when he got hitched.

[SignedSealedDelivered]

i love it...and guess what? Arkansas secretly loved it, too:-)

[maca]

Exactly like the scene in the great 60s satire "The Magic Christian". As the fight announcer dryly says of the incident in that film, "...and the crowd is clearly sickened by the sight of no blood".

[londubh]

That was a scene straight out of the film The Magic Christian It starred Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Christian_(film)

[x1soundgarden1x]

How bout putting up a "SPOILER ALERT," you just gave away a scene from the new Bruno film you jerks.

[ScandalousCandice]

Oh please. so what if a little plot is leaked out. The funny part isn't the plot, it's the reactions from the bigots that get the laughes.

[x1soundgarden1x]

Can I get a SPOILER ALERT tag, anywhere, anyone?

[piper1233]

OK WHAT THE HELL, DITTO ON THE ALERT

[TroubleNYC]

Sigh, Arkansas.

[littlepuffycloud]

People reacted to Andy Kauffman the same way...some­times with confusion or anger. People just HATED Kauffman when he got into the wierd wrestling thing in which he wanted to wrestle women. Cohen like Kauffman is sort of a performance artist and you never know what he's going to do. Personally, I loved Andy Kauffman. He was one crazy guy who died way too soon. I wonder if he and George Carlin have had a chance to chat yet.

[AnnoyedCanuck]

Kaufman was ten times the performer that Cohen is. He was a genuis. He was like Samuel Beckett and Charlie Chaplin rolled into one. He was an inciter and a rebel, but he was much more. First time I saw Kaufman was on SNL more than 25 years ago. Here was this odd, unfunny guy, reading a novel to the audience, intentionally boring them, then getting angry when people started heckling him. It was painful to watch. The skit completely died. Who was this fool? His career seemed to be ending right in front of my eyes. Then suddenly he turned himself into a terrific, full-blown Elvis impersonator, singing his heart out. The audience went from hating him to eating out of his hand. The transformation was brilliant, weird and breathtaking. After that, I couldn't get enough of him. Every performance was an event. He seemed to be writing new rules for comedy.

Cohen's not in this league. He does humiliation and embarrassment, and that's about it. Yes, he makes you laugh and squirm, but he's didactic. He's teaching everybody that white Americans are fools. That's just condescension.

I'd have some respect for Cohen if he went after blacks and gays like he goes after mainstream America. Or if he played a Palestinian in Israel, and showed up the racism of Jews. Does Cohen have this in him? Somehow I doubt it.

[gloriar8]

Dear Annoyed,
Sasha knows his limitations. It was obvious in Borat when he accosted the guy on the subway in new york. So, no the last three will probably not happen and if it does, you'll get an even bigger laugh. But he won't.

[BigBagel]

You hit the nail on the head Canuck. He's conventionally unconventional.

[SifSkade]

Yes, someone should definitely stick it to the blacks and gays. I'm sick of them getting a free pass all the time. Really, Annoyed Canuck?!