Sacha Baron Cohen arrives to attend a screening of the Oscars, in Sydney, Australia, April 26, 2021. Rick Rycroft/Pool via
Sacha Baron Cohen arrives to attend a screening of the Oscars, in Sydney, Australia, April 26, 2021. Rick Rycroft/Pool via Reuters / POOL

KEY POINTS

  • Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat character took aim at Donald Trump and Kanye West at the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors
  • Borat called out West's antisemitic remarks in the skit
  • U2, George Clooney, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight and Tania León were honored at the Sunday event

Sacha Baron Cohen reprised his character Borat and took aim at former President Donald Trump and disgraced rapper Kanye West at the 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors Sunday.

The 51-year-old British actor made risqué jokes while using the comical accent of Kazakh television journalist Borat Sagdiyev at the event held at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., The Guardian reported.

President Joe Biden was spotted smiling broadly, while first lady Jill Biden was seen laughing out loud during Cohen's skit, according to the outlet.

"I know the president of US and A is here," Borat told the audience, which included politicians and celebrities, during a segment celebrating rock group U2. "Where are you, Mr. Trump?"

"You don't look so good. Where has your glorious big belly gone? And your pretty orange skin has become pale." Borat continued as the audience howled and laughed, before asking if Russian President Vladimir Putin and the nerve agent novichok were responsible.

"But I see you have a new wife. Wawawoooah! She is very erotic. I must look away before I get a Bono," Borat joked.

The actor, who is Jewish, then touched on antisemitism in the wake of Trump's Nov. 22 dinner with West, who has espoused antisemitic views, and Nick Fuentes, a prominent Holocaust denier. West was recently banned from Twitter after posting an image of a swastika merged with the Star of David and expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler.

"Before I proceed, I will say I am very upset about the antisemitism in US and A. It not [sic] fair. Kazakhstan is No. 1 Jew-crushing nation. Stop stealing our hobby. Stop the steal! Stop the steal!" Borat said.

"Your Kanye, he tried to move to Kazakhstan and even changed his name to Kazakhstanye West. But we said: No, he too antisemitic, even for us," he continued.

Before ending his segment, Borat, the star of two mockumentary films, sang a short parody of U2's "With or Without You," replacing the lyrics with "With or Without Jews."

After ending the song, he proceeded to ask the audience, "What's the problem? They loved this at Mar-a-Lago. They chose Without Jews."

Along with U2, George Clooney, singer-songwriter Amy Grant, singer Gladys Knight and composer Tania León were celebrated at the 45th Kennedy Center Honors, which is considered the most prestigious honors for lifetime achievements in the arts. The show highlighted the five artists' work.

"Sesame Street's" Big Bird also made an appearance at the event.

Cohen's comedy skit came weeks after Trump's dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida with the Yeezy founder, who brought along white supremacist Fuentes.

Trump has since denied knowing Fuentes or his background when they dined together, a claim Fuentes confirmed in an interview. But the meeting was condemned by Republican rivals and allies of the former president, NBC News reported.

Sacha Baron Cohen
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 05: Actor Sacha Baron Cohen attends the Showtime Golden Globe Nominees Celebration at Sunset Tower Hotel on January 05, 2019 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/WireImage) Leon Bennett/WireImage