A winner has been declared in the showdown between comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and former judge and failed Senate candidate Roy Moore, at least for now. On Thursday, Baron Cohen defeated a $95m defamation lawsuit brought by Moore, who said he was tricked into a television appearance that lampooned sexual misconduct accusations against him.
The second US circuit court of appeals in Manhattan, upholding a lower court’s ruling in favor of Baron Cohen, said Moore signed a disclosure agreement that prohibited any legal claims over the appearance. The three judges also found it was “clearly comedy” when Baron Cohen demonstrated a so-called pedophile detector that beeped when it got near Moore, and no viewer would think the comedian was making factual allegations against Moore.
Accusations of sexual misconduct swirled around Moore when he stood as a Republican to represent Alabama in the US Senate in 2017, a race he lost to the Democrat Doug Jones despite the state being among the most conservative in the country. The lawsuit centered on Moore’s appearance on Who is America?, a show created by the comedian.
Moore, a Republican known for his hardline stances opposing same-sex marriage and supporting the public display of Ten Commandments, had been told he was receiving an award for supporting Israel. But in the segment, Baron Cohen appeared as a faux counter-terrorism instructor, “Col Erran Morad”, discussing bogus military technology, including the supposed pedophile detector. The fake device beeped repeatedly as it got near Moore, who sat stone-faced. Roy has been accused of pursuing sexual and romantic relationships with teens when he was a man in his 30s, allegations he denies.
Moore and his wife indicated they will appeal.
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Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jul/07/sacha-baron-cohen-defeats-roy-moore-lawsuit