BRÃœNO MAKES WAVES IN EUROPE

Sacha Baron Cohen has been jetting around Europe to promote his latest film Brüno. At the Paris premiere he took to the red carpet in lederhosen, while at the Madrid launch, Cohen’s alter-ego appeared in a bull outfit.

In London he dressed in a Queen’s guard uniform, flanked by a group of muscular black men dressed like a camp Queen’s Guards. All outfits didn’t leave much to the imagination, as “Brüno” traipsed around in little more than hot pants.

“Vassup CNN! Lookin’ hot,” Brüno said to CNN. “I don’t want any attention; I’m not here to promote my movie.”

Cohen’s latest film has received both criticism and praise from the gay community. Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation told the New York Times, “Sacha Baron Cohen’s well-meaning attempt at satire is problematic in many places and outright offensive in others.”

In a generally positive review, The Guardian newspaper described much of the film as “hilarious”, but asked “is he lampooning homophobia or perpetuating it? Either way, he gets away with a great deal simply by being a brilliant physical comedian.”

While others view his satirical attempt as an eye-opening exercise for the public, Baron himself explains that characters like Brüno and Borat “essentially work as a tool.” Baron Cohen told UK paper The Observer in a rare out-of-character interview: “By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice.”