(JTA) — Roy Moore, a failed Republican candidate for Senate, has sued Sacha Baron Cohen over his humiliating appearance on the comedian’s show “Who is America?”
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges defamation and emotional distress, and asks for $95 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
Moore is the first public figure to sue Cohen after being punked on this summer’s Showtime series. CBS and Showtime also are named in the lawsuit.
On the show’s third episode, Cohen in his guise as Israeli terrorism expert Erran Morad delved into allegations that Moore sexually harassed and assaulted multiple women decades ago, including some who were minors. The allegations came to topple his Senate campaign.
Cohen as Morad demonstrates what he calls a pedophile-detecting device that beeps when it comes near Moore. He also gives Moore a prize for his support of Israel.
“As an Alabamian, I believe in truth and honesty, which the shadowy media groups behind this illicit scheme do not,” Moore said in a Facebook post on July 12 of the taping by Cohen’s team in January.
The episode was aired on July 29, but by then it was well known that the recordings were hoaxes. Moore said at the time that he would sue.
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