Ali G returns to cinemas as debate over racial satire resurfaces

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G is returning to cinemas in a sequel released on Friday, renewing a long-running argument over whether the character satirises racism or reinforces racial stereotypes.

Ali G: Who Iz I? follows the character as he discovers his girlfriend Julie is pregnant and travels to America to interview unsuspecting participants. Details of the plot remain limited. The return has already drawn criticism online, including from singer and presenter Jordan Stephens and Labour MP Paulette Hamilton, who called the character racist on the Jeremy Vine Show.

Ali G became famous through deadpan interviews and catchphrases such as “Is it because I is black?” Comedian Dane Baptiste says he heard people use the lines so often that real complaints about racism could be reduced to a joke. He calls Ali G a “black caricature” and argues the sequel is arriving when black creatives are being “starved of opportunities”.

The objections date back to the first Ali G film in 2002, when protesters gathered at its Leicester Square premiere. But defenders say the character’s target is not black culture. Colton Dunn, a black writer on the sequel, told Deadline that Ali G is “a tool to expose racists” and said that was why he joined the film.

Baron Cohen has not directly addressed the latest criticism. In a 2020 essay for Time, he said his comedy had sometimes exposed “ignorance, bigotry and conspiratorial delusions”. Discussing the sequel on CBS, he described his primary aim as making people “laugh really hard”, with “a bit of satire” mixed in.

Supporters also point to Ali G’s enduring appeal in Staines-upon-Thames, which the character presents as his home town. Resident Alex Balkan, who campaigned for a statue of Ali G, says the character remains a source of local pride. Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has described the humour as “clever, satirical”, arguing that it makes people look foolish.

The disagreement turns on who the joke lands on: the prejudices of the people Ali G interviews, or the racial caricature he performs. Audiences will have a chance to judge the sequel when it opens on Friday. [1]