Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Dictator” Threatens Oscars over Ticket Snub

"General Aladeen," the fictional Middle Eastern ruler who Sacha Baron Cohen portrays in his upcoming film The Dictator, is speaking out against the Academy's reported attempt to ban Cohen from appearing in character on the red carpet at this Sunday's Oscar ceremony.

In a video which I posted below, Cohen as Aladeen, the ruler of the fictional nation of Wadiya, blasts the "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Zionists," fumes that he's "outraged" at the ticket snub, and warns there would be "unimaginable consequences" if the academy didn't "lift its sanctions" and give him his tickets back. "Furthermore, it is an act of aggression that no Wadiyan films have been recognized by the academy," he adds. "Where are the nominations for such classic movies as When Harry Kidnapped Sally, You Got Mailbomb, and Planet of the Rapes?"

In character, Cohen also skewers Hilary Swank's recent PR misstep in which she claims she unknowingly took $2 million from a suspected war criminal to attend his birthday party, and director Brett Ratner's anti-gay comments, which led to him stepping down as the producer of the Oscar telecast.

In closing, Cohen/Aladeen screams: "Death to the West! Death to America! And good luck, Billy Crystals!," before asking someone off-camera, "How was that? Did I sound crazy enough?"

In reality, Cohen -- the actor, not the faux dictator -- actually has a reason for being at the Oscars this year. He's a member of the cast of this year's most nominated film, Hugo.