Al-Aqsa Leader Sues Sacha Baron Cohen, Letterman

Cohen at a Brüno premiere earlier this year.

CREDIT: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images

A couple months ago, the pro-Palestinian al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade expressed its displeasure over a scene in the movie Brüno in which the eponymous character, a gay Austrian fashion maven played by Sacha Baron Cohen, mocks and humiliates an alleged leader of the terrorist group. The Brigade has not acquired a sense of humor since then, but it has acquired a lawyer: the leader, Ayman Abu Aita, will sue Cohen and NBC Universal in U.S. federal court for $110 million, charging libel and slander. Additional defendants will include Brüno director Larry Charles, Gannett, and CBS and David Letterman—apparently the group is particularly miffed by a segment Cohen did on The Late Show while promoting the film. Somebody might want to tell the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade that Aita’s scene—and the movie generally—are actually pretty forgettable, or would be if the group didn’t keep reminding us of them.

$110 Million Lawsuit Says ‘Brüno’ and Letterman Defamed Palestinian Leader [THR, Esq.]

Previously: Terrorist Threatens Sacha Baron Cohen