‘Ali G’ Boycott Campaign Grows to 37,000 Emails as Backlash Over “Racist” Caricature Intensifies

Comedy revivals rarely arrive without some degree of scrutiny, but few characters carry quite as much built-in controversy as the one making his return to the big screen this fall. What started as a modest wave of online criticism has since escalated into a full-blown organized campaign, complete with an actual number attached to just how many people are pushing back.

That number just grew significantly, giving the controversy surrounding Sacha Baron Cohen’s comeback a genuinely quantifiable scale.

‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ has sparked calls for a theater boycott, with the film’s trailer slammed over what critics describe as racist stereotypes. According to Deadline, UK-based media monitoring platform NewsCord has now rallied support for sending more than 37,000 emails to cinema chains around the world, urging them to refuse to screen the film entirely.

The campaign’s messaging, shared by NewsCord on X, argues that “Ali G is a cover to laugh at Jamaican culture,” adding that “the character enforces harmful stereotypes of how a Jamaican man behaves in society.” According to Deadline, the campaign’s landing page directly targets Sony Pictures UK’s own marketing tagline for the film, “He iz back. We ain’t liable,” countering with the line, “The screens belong to the chains, and a booking is a choice.”

Much of the recent controversy has centered on whether any actual theater chains have agreed to the boycott. According to Wiz Nation, reports suggesting UK exhibitor Picturehouse Cinemas had committed to banning the film appear to have been overstated, with Variety confirming the chain’s response was simply a standard reply indicating the film hadn’t yet been booked, rather than an actual decision to refuse screening it. The UK Cinema Association has also pushed back on the broader idea that theaters should serve as cultural gatekeepers, arguing that programming decisions should be based on what audiences actually want to see.

Cohen himself addressed the growing backlash with characteristic defiance, writing on X, “In an age where a comedian’s career can be ended by a single un-PC joke, I thought I’d play it safe and bring this guy back,” a comment widely read as a direct jab at the very controversy now surrounding the film’s release. That unapologetic tone extended to an earlier promotional stunt at Wimbledon, where Cohen appeared in character pretending to sell products to attendees, further leaning into the same provocative persona that’s fueled both fan enthusiasm and organized criticism.

Reaction beyond the boycott campaign itself has remained sharply divided. British writer Afua Hirsch argued in a Substack post that “Black people don’t dress like that anymore,” criticizing what she described as the character’s reliance on outdated stereotypes, while defenders online have countered that the joke has always been aimed at mocking ignorant white people who mimic Black culture, not Black culture itself.

Ali G originally debuted on British television in 1998, conceived as a satirical portrait of a white suburban man adopting the slang, clothing, and mannerisms he associates with Black British and Jamaican culture. ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ marks Cohen’s feature directorial debut and is currently set for an October 23 release through Amazon MGM Studios domestically and Sony Pictures internationally. Whether this growing campaign meaningfully affects the film’s box office rollout, or simply becomes another chapter in the ongoing cultural conversation around Cohen’s brand of provocative satire, remains to be seen as the release date approaches.

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