(JTA) — Sacha Baron Cohen is coming back to TV, and he’s teasing his new show in an intriguing way: by telling us all it involves an interview with Dick Cheney.
That’s not the only eye-opening detail, however: In a video Cohen shared Sunday on Twitter, the former vice president happily signs what the comedian calls a “waterboard kit” during what appears to be part of that interview. Cheney, of course, is known for staunchly defending the controversial torture tactic known as waterboarding, which simulates the experience of drowning. Cohen is known for pranking prominent guests by interviewing them in the guise of accented dimwits like Borat and Ali G.
“Dick Cheney, is it possible to sign my waterboard kit?” Cohen asks in an Eastern European tone that recalls Borat, his ostensibly Kazakhstani character.
“Sure,” Cheney responds immediately before signing his name on a jug of water.
“That’s a first, that’s the first time I ever signed a waterboard,” Cheney adds.
Cohen’s show “Who Is America?” premieres Sunday on Showtime and will feature the Cheney interview, according to a promotional video. The network has touted the show as “the most dangerous … in the history of television” and called Cohen’s latest character “shameless” and “unhinged.”
“Sacha is a comedic genius who shocks you with his audacity, bravery and inventiveness,” Showtime CEO David Nevins said in a statement.
Donald Trump might feature into the show in some way as well. On the Fourth of July, Cohen tweeted a video featuring the president calling him a “third rate character” who he wished would get “punched in the face so many times right now [that] he’d be in a hospital.” Cohen famously pranked Trump for an episode of “Da Ali G Show.”
The Jewish comedian is also set to star as former Israeli Mossad agent Eli Cohen in a Netflix miniseries titled “Spy” sometime later this year.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
